Pilot Test of Apnea and Insomnia Relief for Veterans With Gulf War Illness
NCT ID: NCT05137743
Last Updated: 2025-12-23
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
NA
80 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2022-02-15
2026-03-31
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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Conditions
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
SINGLE
Study Groups
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Apnea and Insomnia Relief (AIR)
This treatment will be offered over six sessions. All appointments will be conducted via telehealth and will last 60 minutes. The main components of the AIR protocol are (a) psychoeducation, (b) motivational interviewing, (c) PAP adherence strategies, and (d) cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I).
Apnea and Insomnia Relief (AIR)
This treatment will be offered over six sessions. All appointments will be conducted via telehealth and will last 60 minutes. The main components of the AIR protocol are (a) psychoeducation, (b) motivational interviewing, (c) PAP adherence strategies, and (d) cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
Sleep Education (SE)
This treatment will be offered over six sessions. All appointments will be conducted via telehealth and will last 60 minutes. Topics covered include the sleep cycle, sleep across the lifespan, sleep and the mind, evening activities and the sleep environment, and daytime activities and sleep.
Sleep Education (SE)
This treatment will be offered over six sessions. All appointments will be conducted via telehealth and will last 60 minutes. Topics covered include the sleep cycle, sleep across the lifespan, sleep and the mind, evening activities and the sleep environment, and daytime activities and sleep.
Interventions
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Apnea and Insomnia Relief (AIR)
This treatment will be offered over six sessions. All appointments will be conducted via telehealth and will last 60 minutes. The main components of the AIR protocol are (a) psychoeducation, (b) motivational interviewing, (c) PAP adherence strategies, and (d) cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
Sleep Education (SE)
This treatment will be offered over six sessions. All appointments will be conducted via telehealth and will last 60 minutes. Topics covered include the sleep cycle, sleep across the lifespan, sleep and the mind, evening activities and the sleep environment, and daytime activities and sleep.
Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Deployed to the "Gulf Theater of operations," as defined by 38 CFR 3.317
* Meets the Kansas GWI and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI) case definitions. The Kansas GWI definition requires cases to endorse multiple or moderate-to-severe chronic symptoms in at least three of six symptom domains. These include: i) fatigue/sleep problems, ii) somatic pain, iii) neurological cognitive, mood symptoms, iv) gastrointestinal symptoms, v) respiratory symptoms, and vi) skin abnormalities. Veterans will be excluded from being considered Kansas GWI cases, for purposes of the proposed trial, if they report being diagnosed by a physician with medical or psychiatric conditions that would account for their symptoms or interfere with their ability to report their symptoms. Veterans with current or past history of PTSD or depression in the past 5 years will not be excluded from participation if they have not been hospitalized for these conditions. The CDC CMI case definition requires cases to endorse symptoms in at least two of three symptom clusters. These include: i) fatigability (e.g., feeling fatigue for 24 hours or more after exertion), ii) mood/cognitive symptoms (e.g., feeling depressed, irritable, worried, tense or anxious; difficulty thinking or concentrating, problems finding words, or problems getting to or staying asleep). iii) musculoskeletal pain.
* Meet the DSM-5 research diagnostic criteria for insomnia disorder. Unlike other GWI symptoms, we will not require the Veteran's insomnia to have begun during the Gulf War or within one year after leaving the Gulf region. This is because some GWI symptoms may cause veterans to adopt behaviors that lead to sleep problems later. Results from our CBT-I trial in Veterans with GWI suggest that improving sleep also improves non-sleep related symptoms such as fatigue, depression, pain, and psychosocial function. Therefore, we hypothesize that even if insomnia was not one of the original GWI symptoms, improving sleep in veterans with GWI will also improve other GWI-related symptoms.
* Diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by physician based on polysomnography or evidence of OSA based on an Apnea-Hyponea Index (AHI) or respiratory disturbance index (RDI) that is \> or = 5 based on home sleep apnea testing.
* Have access to wireless internet connection at home for remote positive airway pressure (PAP) data capture.
Exclusion Criteria
* History of any psychiatric disorder with active psychosis or mania in the past 5 years.
* Severe drug or alcohol use disorder within the past 6 months as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID 5). Veterans with moderate drug or alcohol use disorder will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
* Prominent suicidal or homicidal ideation.
* Pregnancy, because insomnia will worsen after 8 weeks.
* Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) or screening indicative of RLS based on Restless legs syndrome screening questionnaire (RLSSQ).
* Current enrollment in another clinical trial.
* Traumatic brain injury (TBI) will not be exclusionary for the proposed study unless it impacts cognition to a degree that the Veteran cannot complete treatment or homework assignments (this will be determined on a case-by-case basis at PI and therapists' discretion).
* Starting or ending psychotherapy for a sleep disorder or mental health diagnosis within the last one month.
* Starting or ending an antidepressant, anxiolytic, or sleep medication with the last one month will be excluded. Veterans currently receiving benzodiazepine or benzodiazepine receptor agonists, anticonvulsants, atypical antipsychotic medication, or non-SSRI antidepressant medications such as trazodone will be not be excluded provided that they meet the DSM-5 criteria for insomnia disorder, exhibit evidence of OSA, and will remain on the medication(s) throughout the 6-week treatment period and the 3-month follow-up period.
48 Years
80 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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San Francisco VA Health Care System
FED
United States Department of Defense
FED
CDMRP
UNKNOWN
University of California, San Francisco
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Principal Investigators
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Linda L Chao, PhD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
University of California, San Francisco
Locations
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VA Health Care System
San Francisco, California, United States
Countries
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References
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Chao LL, Kanady JC, Crocker N, Straus LD, Hlavin J, Metzler TJ, Maguen S, Neylan TC. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in veterans with gulf war illness: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Life Sci. 2021 Aug 15;279:119147. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119147. Epub 2021 Feb 4.
Other Identifiers
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CDMRP - GW200046
Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT
Identifier Source: secondary_id
21-33521
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id