Abstract
We sought to establish the feasibility and preliminary effects of home-wearable light therapy for postpartum depression, and its effects on circadian measures. Eight women within 6 months postpartum were prescribed 60 min of daily morning light therapy for 5 weeks. The device was well tolerated. Significant improvements were observed in self-report and clinician-rated depression symptoms, with little change in objective circadian measures. Home-wearable light therapy is feasible for postpartum women and may be a promising treatment for postpartum depression. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02769858
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Funding
This research was supported by the Gilmore Fund for Sleep Research and Education (University of Michigan) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Swanson; K23HL122461).
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Study procedures were approved by the University of Michigan Medical School Institutional Review Board.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Swanson, L.M., Burgess, H.J., Zollars, J. et al. An open-label pilot study of a home wearable light therapy device for postpartum depression. Arch Womens Ment Health 21, 583–586 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0836-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0836-z