ArticleTrials2018
Adolescent depression: Study protocol for a randomized, controlled, double-blind multicenter parallel group trial of Bright Light Therapy in a naturalistic inpatient setting (DeLight).
Article in Trials, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship between depression and quality of life among students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Light therapy with boxes or glasses to counteract effects of acute sleep deprivation.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Concordance between self- and clinician ratings of depression during inpatient treatment in adolescents: changes over time and probable response shift.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Bright light exposure reduces negative affect and modulates EEG activity in sleep-deprived and well-rested adolescents.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2025Article
- Possible Effects of Bright Light Therapy on Electroencephalogram-Vigilance in the Treatment of Depression in Adolescents: A Pilot Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Are one-year changes in adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines associated with depressive symptoms among youth?BMC public health · 2020Article
- New Somatic Treatments for Child and Adolescent Depression.Current treatment options in psychiatry · 2019Article
- Verification, analytical validation and clinical validation (V3) of wearable dosimeters and light loggers.Digital healthReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDepressive disorders are among the most prominent health problems in youth. Even with the best available pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, remission rates are low. Without early treatment, depression in youth is associated with a high risk of symptom progression, chronicity, co-morbidity, and suicidal behavior. Thus, adolescent depression is a prime candidate for innovation in treatment. In depressive adults, meta-analytic evidence has proven that bright light therapy (BLT) is a potent low-threshold intervention, promising due to easy application, low side effects, and optimized compliance. In adolescents, studies with small samples show promising effects. This randomized controlled trial will examine the effectiveness of BLT in youth inpatients. METHODS/
designIn this randomized, controlled, double-blind multicenter parallel group trial, morning BLT is applied for four weeks in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) for depressed youth inpatients (daily morning exposure to bright light via light-emitting glasses, 10,000 lx, for 30 min) and will be compared to a control condition (placebo light treatment, red light, identical light glasses). The primary objective is to assess whether BLT reduces symptoms of depression in youth with greater effect compared to placebo light therapy. Secondary objectives are to examine the impact of BLT on responder status, application of antidepressant medication, and further depression-related symptoms (sleep, activity, quality of life, satisfaction with health, general psychopathology, alertness, and circadian function). N = 224 patients will be recruited in a naturalistic inpatient setting. A follow-up will be carried out after three and six months. DISCUSSION: The study aims to discuss and evaluate BLT as an additive method supporting standardized clinical procedures dealing with severe to moderate depressive symptoms in youth.
trial registrationGerman Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00013188 . Registered on November 30, 2017.
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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.