eIMPACT Trial: Modernized Collaborative Care to Reduce the Excess CVD Risk of Older Depressed Patients

Indiana University

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: Coronary Artery Disease; Depressive Symptoms; Major Depressive Disorder; Stroke; Dysthymic Disorder; Cardiovascular Diseases; Depression; Heart Diseases

Treatments: Behavioral: Problem Solving Treatment in Primary Care (PST-PC); Drug: Antidepressant Medications; Other: Usual Care; Behavioral: Beating the Blues (BtB)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT02458690

R01HL122245 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

1411802537

Details and patient eligibility

About

The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate whether the investigators modernized IMPACT intervention for depression (eIMPACT), delivered before the onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), reduces the risk of future CVD. Participants will be primary care patients who are depressed but do not have a history of CVD. Half of the participants will receive standard depression treatment in primary care (usual care), and the other half will receive one year of eIMPACT, a collaborative stepped care program including antidepressants and computerized and telephonic cognitive-behavioral therapy. To evaluate change in CVD risk, the investigators will measure artery function using ultrasound before and after the 1-year treatment period. It is hypothesized that patients who receive the eIMPACT intervention will have greater improvements in artery function than patients who receive usual care.

Full description

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer of American men and women, and its economic burden is substantial and on the rise. Adults with depression are at elevated risk of CVD events and poor CVD prognosis. Unfortunately, past trials of depression treatments have not observed the anticipated cardiovascular benefits. A novel explanation for these null results is that the interventions in these trials, which all involved patients with preexisting CVD, were delivered too late in the natural history of CVD. To begin to evaluate our hypothesis that treating depression before clinical CVD onset could reduce CVD risk, the investigators are conducting a phase II randomized controlled trial of 216 primary care patients aged ≥ 50 years with a depressive disorder and CVD risk factors but no clinical CVD. Patients will be randomized to one year of eIMPACT, our modernized IMPACT intervention, or usual primary care for depression. eIMPACT is a collaborative stepped care intervention involving a multidisciplinary team delivering evidenced-based depression treatments consistent with patient preference. The investigator shave modernized our intervention by incorporating computerized cognitive-behavioral therapy and delivering other treatment components via telephone. Our central hypothesis is that eIMPACT will improve endothelial dysfunction, which is considered a barometer of CVD risk, in depressed adults by decreasing depressive symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and platelet activation. The investigators will test our central hypothesis by carrying out these specific aims: (1) to determine whether eIMPACT reduces the excess CVD risk of depressed patients (primary outcome: endothelial dysfunction; exploratory outcome: incident CVD events) and (2) to examine candidate mechanisms underlying the effect of eIMPACT on CVD risk (secondary outcomes: depressive symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and platelet activation). A positive trial would generate the mechanistic rationale, efficacy evidence, and effect size estimates needed to justify and design a multisite, event-driven, phase III trial to confirm eIMPACT's efficacy in reducing CVD risk. Demonstrating that depression treatment reduces CVD risk, the primary expected outcome of this line of research, would have a substantial positive impact. It would identify a novel target (depression) for CVD prevention efforts, and it would equip providers with a new disseminable and scalable tool (eIMPACT) to simultaneously treat depression and manage the CVD risk of a large cohort of high-risk patients. Collectively, these changes to clinical practice should translate into reduced CVD morbidity, mortality, and costs.

Enrollment: 216 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 50+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Primary care patients
• Age ≥ 50 years
• Current depressive disorder
• Elevated cardiovascular disease risk

Exclusion criteria

• History of clinical cardiovascular disease
• Presence of the following chronic disorders: HIV/AIDS, chronic kidney disease, systemic inflammatory disease, or past-year cancer
• History of bipolar disorder or psychosis
• Continuous (e.g., daily) treatment for a systemic inflammatory condition (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis) in the past 3 months. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is allowed, given its high prevalence in the target population.
• Current use of anticoagulants (Aspirin and cholesterol and blood pressure medications are allowed)
• Acute risk of suicide
• Severe cognitive impairment
• Current pregnancy
• Ongoing depression treatment with a psychiatrist outside of the Eskenazi Health/Midtown system (ongoing depression treatment with a Eskenazi Health/Midtown psychiatrist is allowed, as we will be able to collaborate and coordinate depression care)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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216 participants in 2 patient groups

eIMPACT

Experimental group

Description:

eIMPACT is a 12-month, modernized, collaborative, stepped care intervention consisting of (1) computerized and telephonic cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression and (2) select antidepressant medications included in an algorithm optimized for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. It is a collaborative care intervention in which a multidisciplinary team delivers established depression treatments consistent with patient preference. It uses a stepped, flexible, treat-to-target approach that modernizes the IMPACT intervention by harnessing technology to minimize staff and space requirements. Interventions are Beating the Blues, Problem Solving Treatment in Primary Care, and select FDA-approved antidepressants. The treatment team consists of a depression clinical specialist, a supervising MD with expertise in primary care and IMPACT, and the patients' primary care providers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Beating the Blues (BtB)

Drug: Antidepressant Medications

Behavioral: Problem Solving Treatment in Primary Care (PST-PC)

Usual Care

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients and their primary care providers are informed of the depressive disorder diagnosis, and follow-up is encouraged. There are no restrictions on the care received. The Eskenazi Health primary care clinics utilize a team care approach, with PCPs supported by embedded behavioral health clinicians and affiliated psychiatrists.

Treatment:

Other: Usual Care