Trial reportThe Journal of clinical psychiatry2011
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of light therapy for antepartum depression.
Trial report in The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 68 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study of Light Therapy for Antepartum Depression
Bright Light Therapy Efficacy for Depressive Symptoms Following Cardiac Surgery or Acute Coronary Syndrome: Pilot Trial
Light Therapy for Depression in Adolescent Outpatients: A Placebo lead-in Clinical Trial
A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial of Bright Light Therapy on All-Cause Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Prader-Willi Syndrome
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 235 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Bright Light Therapy on Perinatal Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Effet de la luminothérapie sur la dépression périnatale: une revue systématique et une méta-analyse.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Pooled it
- The effects of light therapy on depression and sleep in women during pregnancy or the postpartum period: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brain and behavior · 2023Pooled it
- Treatment of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders during the perinatal period: A systematic review.Clinical psychology review · 2018Pooled it
- Interventions (other than pharmacological, psychosocial or psychological) for treating antenatal depression.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2013Pooled it
- The effect of bright light therapy on sleep in pregnant women with major depressive disorder- a randomized controlled trial.Archives of women's mental health · 2025Trial
- A 1-week sleep and light intervention improves mood in premenstrual dysphoric disorder in association with shifting melatonin offset time earlier.Archives of women's mental health · 2023Trial
- Effects of bright light therapy for depression during pregnancy: a randomised, double-blind controlled trial.BMJ open · 2020Trial
- Effect of Bright Light Therapy on Depressive Symptoms in Middle-Aged and Older Patients Receiving Long-Term Hemodialysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Bright light therapy for depressive symptoms in hospitalized cardiac patients: A randomized controlled pilot trial.PloS one · 2020Trial
- Early versus late wake therapy improves mood more in antepartum versus postpartum depression by differentially altering melatonin-sleep timing disturbances.Journal of affective disorders · 2019Trial
- Bright light therapy in pregnant women with major depressive disorder: study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial.BMC psychiatry · 2016Trial
- Temporal integration of light flashes by the human circadian system.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2016Trial
- Chronotherapeutic treatments for depression in youth.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2016Trial
- Trial
- Bright light for weight loss: results of a controlled crossover trial.Obesity facts · 2013Trial
- Central hypocretin/orexin administration alleviates sleep/wake disturbances, anhedonia, and neuroinflammation in an animal model of seasonal affective disorder.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Chronotherapy in the Treatment of Major Depression.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- When the biological clock is disordered: circadian rhythm disruption as a core pathophysiological mechanism in anxiety and depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Novel and emerging physical treatments for major depressive disorder.Fundamental research · 2025Review
- Cortisol awakening response in pregnant women with depressive disorders: a potential marker of recovery status from pregnancy to postpartum.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025Article
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
12 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAffective disorder during pregnancy is a common condition requiring careful judgment to treat the depression while minimizing risk to the fetus. Following up on promising pilot trials, we studied the efficacy of light therapy.
methodTwenty-seven pregnant women with nonseasonal major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV (outpatients, university polyclinic) were randomly assigned to 7,000 lux fluorescent bright white or 70 lux dim red (placebo) light administered at home in the morning upon awakening for 1 h/d in a 5-week double-blind trial carried out between October 2004 and October 2008. Clinical state was monitored weekly with the 29-item Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) with Atypical Depression Supplement (SIGH-ADS). Changes of rating scale scores over time were analyzed with the general linear model. Differences from baseline of SIGH-ADS and 17-item HDRS scores at every time point were the dependent variables, time was the within-subjects factor, and treatment was the between-subjects factor. The model also included baseline score of depression and gestational age at intervention start.
resultsThe superiority of bright light over dim light placebo was shown for both SIGH-ADS (R² = 0.251; F(3,23) = 3.91; P < .05) and HDRS (R² = 0.338; F(3,23) = 5.42; P < .01) when analyzing the week-by-week change from baseline, and HDRS scores showed a significant interaction of treatment with time (F(4,92) = 2.91; P < .05). Categorical analysis revealed that the response rate (HDRS ≥ 50% improvement) at week 5 was significantly greater for bright light (81.3%, n = 16) than for placebo light (45.5%, n = 11) (P < .05). Remission (final score ≤ 8) was attained by 68.6% versus 36.4%, respectively (P < .05). Expectation ratings did not differ significantly between groups.
conclusionsBright white light treatment for 5 weeks improved depression during pregnancy significantly more than placebo dim red light. The study provides evidence that light therapy, a simple, cost-effective antidepressant modality with minimal side effects for the mother and no known risk for the unborn child, may be a useful nonpharmacologic approach in this difficult situation.
trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01043289.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.