An interventional study of Outdoor and Indoor in Depression, sponsored by Klaus Martiny. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in Denmark. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-16.
Sponsored by Klaus Martiny · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
A seasonal pattern in the on- and offset of depressive episodes in recurrent depressive disorder is prevalent at latitudes with large summer-winter differences in daylength. In Denmark we estimate that 10-12% of the population experience winter depression symptoms with functional impairment, and 1-2% of the population is expected to fulfil the ICD-11 criteria for a recurrent depression episode with a winter seasonal pattern (seasonal depression). First-line treatment of seasonal depression is light delivered by a light box with exposure for ½-1 hour each morning in the season. Based on the physical characteristics and physiological responses daylight should be just as effective as light from a light box. Therefore, in this study the aim is to investigate whether 30 minutes daily outside walks for 6 weeks has an antidepressant effect.
Methods and analyses The study will include 150 patients, during the winter seasons, fulfilling the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for seasonal depression, winter type and not spending more than 2 hours outside in the last month. Patients will be randomly allocated to either a 30 minutes' daily walk outdoors or 30 minutes daily reading books or listening to podcast. Any actual depression treatment will continue. All patients will be followed for 6 weeks and will wear a CamNtech MotionWatch 8 device to assess 24-hour activity and light exposure. The primary outcome is the estimated difference between groups on the SIGH-SAD-SA self-assessment scale using all data from the 6 weeks assessments. The association between actigraphy data, light sensor data, self-reported sleep measures, and depression outcomes will also be also investigated.
8,240 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,641 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 150 is above the median of 84 across 6,869 interventional studies indexed under Depression.
Browse Depression studies →Klaus Martiny is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
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Seasonal depression according to ICD-11
Exclusion Criteria:
Bipolar and psychotic disorder Working outside more than 2 hours a day
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Daylight exposure
Other: Outdoor
Reading
Other: Indoor
Exposure to 30 minutes of Daylight
Reading for 30 minutes indoor
Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale - Seasonal Affective Disorder Self assessment version (SIGH-SAD-SA)
Selfrating instrument to assess depression with atypical symptoms. Score range from 0-77, 77= worst depression
Time frame: Used weekly with a 1 week recall
Sleep onset latency
Time falling a sleep based on a the sleep diary
Time frame: Daily ratings throughout the whole 6 week study period
WHO-5 quality of life
Quality of life scale. Score range from 0-100, 100= best quality of life
Time frame: Used weekly with a 1 week recall
Plan to share: Undecided — On reasonal request
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Klaus Martiny