Aerobic Exercise for Cognitive Functioning in Patients With Substance Use Disorder

NCT ID: NCT05324085

Last Updated: 2025-06-10

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 84 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-04-07
• Study Completion Date: 2024-12-20

Brief Summary

Impaired cognitive function is common among patients with substance use disorder (SUD). This is particularly related to executive functions (EF), which includes abilities like decision-making, consequence analysis and impulse/self-control. EF is recognized as an important determinant of treatment outcome as it is associated with dropout rate, attendance to therapy sessions and absence of relapse following treatment termination. Exercise seem to improve cognitive/executive functions, particularly in individuals with cognitive impairments. Aerobic exercise also affects signaling substances and growth factors known to inhibit neural degeneration, and improves cerebral insulin sensitivity and blood flow, contributing to improved brain function. There is a lack of knowledge regarding how to improve EF in SUD patients, and whether such improvements can benefit other parts of the treatment, such as psychotherapy. Aerobic exercise is a well-recognized and cost-effective intervention for cardiovascular and metabolic health, with promising effects on cognitive/executive functions. A randomized controlled trial will be carried out to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on EF, molecular markers of neuroplasticity and brain function, and treatment outcome in SUD patients. The investigators expect to achieve new knowledge regarding cognitive impairment among SUD patients and to what extent aerobic exercise can improve cognitive abilities and treatment outcome.

Conditions

Substance Abuse; Cognitive Dysfunction

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Exercise intervention group

Participants will undergo supervised treadmill exercise three times each week for eight weeks, in addition to treatment as usual (TAU).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

High-intensity interval training

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Supervised exercise intervention, three times a week for eight weeks.

Treatment as usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The content of TAU is broadly individualized but most often includes various forms of group therapy, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and physical activity. The physical activity schedule for the patients typically includes gym-based exercises, individualized by preference of each patient, and various outdoors activities, four times per week all together.

Control group

Participants will undergo TAU. The content of TAU is broadly individualized but most often includes various forms of group therapy, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and physical activity. The physical activity schedule for the patients typically includes gym-based exercises, individualized by preference of each patient, and various outdoors activities, four times per week all together.

Group Type: OTHER

Treatment as usual

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The content of TAU is broadly individualized but most often includes various forms of group therapy, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and physical activity. The physical activity schedule for the patients typically includes gym-based exercises, individualized by preference of each patient, and various outdoors activities, four times per week all together.

Interventions

High-intensity interval training

Supervised exercise intervention, three times a week for eight weeks.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Treatment as usual

The content of TAU is broadly individualized but most often includes various forms of group therapy, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and physical activity. The physical activity schedule for the patients typically includes gym-based exercises, individualized by preference of each patient, and various outdoors activities, four times per week all together.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

HIIT

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Diagnosed substance use disorder (SUD) by ICD-10
• Being in residential inpatient treatment for SUD at Lade Addiction Treatment Center

Exclusion Criteria

• Recent participation in regular aerobic high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
• Admissions shorter than 12 weeks
• Pregnant
• History of brain injury (except concussions)
• Any acute or chronic somatic or psychiatric condition (e.g. heart disease or psychosis) or a medication that would limit the ability to participate in the exercise training and testing procedures, or any of the other assessments.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Lade Behandlingssenter, Blå Kors

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

St. Olavs Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Mats P Mosti, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Department of Research and Development, St. Olavs University Hospital

Locations

Lade Behandlingssenter, Blåkors

Trondheim, Trøndelag, Norway

Countries

Norway

References

Haberstroh C, Weider S, Flemmen G, Loe H, Andersson HW, Hallgren M, Mosti MP. The effect of high-intensity interval training on cognitive function in patients with substance use disorder: Study protocol for a two-armed randomized controlled trial. Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Dec 9;4:954561. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.954561. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 36570498 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

3253020430

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

171845

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id