Wild Blueberries for Gut, Brain, and Cardiometabolic Health in Prediabetes

NCT ID: NCT06735651

Last Updated: 2025-07-30

Study Results

Results pending

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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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

30 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-09-20

Study Completion Date

2026-06-01

Brief Summary

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The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of using a freeze-dried wild blueberry powder on cardiometabolic health, cognitive function, and gut microbiota composition in adult women with prediabetes.

Detailed Description

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In the U.S., 35.3 million adults have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 96 million have prediabetes. Eight out of 10 people with T2DM die from cardiovascular disease. People with T2DM also have a 50% higher risk of developing dementia compared to healthy counterparts. Further, studies show that gut microbes play a major role in the development of T2DM. Prevention and treatment of T2DM focus on lifestyle changes including dietary modifications such as increased consumption of deep-colored fruits like berries. Blueberries are rich in fiber and phytochemicals and have several health benefits. We and others have shown that blueberry intake improves heart health in healthy men, hypertensive postmenopausal women, and men and women with metabolic syndrome. Yet, a comprehensive study in women with prediabetes that measures changes in cognitive performance and the underlying heart and gut health has not been conducted to date. Thus, the overall objective of this study is to investigate and bring forth evidence that wild blueberries improve gut, cardiometabolic, and cognitive function in women with prediabetes.

Therefore, this pilot six-week randomized, placebo-controlled parallel-arm clinical trial aims to investigate whether daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder improves gut, cardiometabolic, and cognitive function in women with prediabetes. Investigators hypothesize that daily consumption of wild blueberries will improve cardiometabolic parameters, gut dysbiosis, and cognitive impairments in our study population. To test these hypotheses, the following specific aims are proposed. To investigate whether daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder:

* Reduces levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, and HOMA-IR (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance) and improves lipid profile in women with prediabetes.
* Reduces blood pressure and improves endothelial function in women with prediabetes.
* Improves cognitive function (verbal memory and executive functions \[inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility\]) in women with prediabetes.
* Favorably modulates gut microbiota composition in women with prediabetes.
* Improves serum markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in women with prediabetes.

Additionally, whether changes in the gut microbiota are associated with changes in cardiometabolic and cognitive function outcomes and whether changes in cardiometabolic outcomes are associated with changes in cognitive function parameters will be explored.

Conditions

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Prediabetes (Insulin Resistance, Impaired Glucose Tolerance) Female Adult Endothelial Function (Reactive Hyperemia) Arterial Stiffness Cognition Oxidative Stress Gut Microbiota Overweight Inflammation Microvascular Function Body Composition

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Wild Blueberry

22 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry freeze-dried powder per day

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Wild Blueberry

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry freeze-dried powder for 6 weeks

Placebo

22 g of freeze-dried macronutrient-matched placebo powder per day

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Placebo

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried macronutrient-matched placebo powder for 6 weeks

Interventions

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Wild Blueberry

Daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry freeze-dried powder for 6 weeks

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried macronutrient-matched placebo powder for 6 weeks

Intervention Type DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Women aged 45-65 years old
* Prediabetes (fasting blood glucose 100-125 mg/dL and/or HbA1c percentage between 5.7-6.4)
* Body Mass Index between 25-30 kg/m\^2

Exclusion Criteria

* Allergies to berries
* Use of insulin, antidiabetic, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs
* Active cancer, gastrointestinal, renal, thyroid, stage 1 \& 2 hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, or severe head injury
* Smoking
* Consumes greater than 2 alcoholic beverages per day
* Consumes antioxidant, probiotic, and prebiotic supplements
* Pregnant or Lactating
* Actively participating in a weight loss program
* Currently taking berry supplements or recently participated in another study taking berry supplements
Minimum Eligible Age

45 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Wild Blueberry Association of North America

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Georgia State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Rafaela G. Feresin

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Rafaela G Feresin, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Georgia State University

Locations

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Georgia State University

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Rafaela G Feresin, PhD

Role: CONTACT

404-413-1233

Facility Contacts

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Rafaela G Feresin, PhD

Role: primary

404-413-1233

References

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Stote KS, Wilson MM, Hallenbeck D, Thomas K, Rourke JM, Sweeney MI, Gottschall-Pass KT, Gosmanov AR. Effect of Blueberry Consumption on Cardiometabolic Health Parameters in Men with Type 2 Diabetes: An 8-Week, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Curr Dev Nutr. 2020 Mar 9;4(4):nzaa030. doi: 10.1093/cdn/nzaa030. eCollection 2020 Apr.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32337475 (View on PubMed)

Miller MG, Hamilton DA, Joseph JA, Shukitt-Hale B. Dietary blueberry improves cognition among older adults in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eur J Nutr. 2018 Apr;57(3):1169-1180. doi: 10.1007/s00394-017-1400-8. Epub 2017 Mar 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28283823 (View on PubMed)

Biessels GJ, Despa F. Cognitive decline and dementia in diabetes mellitus: mechanisms and clinical implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2018 Oct;14(10):591-604. doi: 10.1038/s41574-018-0048-7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30022099 (View on PubMed)

Rawshani A, Rawshani A, Franzen S, Eliasson B, Svensson AM, Miftaraj M, McGuire DK, Sattar N, Rosengren A, Gudbjornsdottir S. Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2017 Apr 13;376(15):1407-1418. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1608664.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28402770 (View on PubMed)

Krikorian R, Skelton MR, Summer SS, Shidler MD, Sullivan PG. Blueberry Supplementation in Midlife for Dementia Risk Reduction. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 13;14(8):1619. doi: 10.3390/nu14081619.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35458181 (View on PubMed)

Johnson SA, Figueroa A, Navaei N, Wong A, Kalfon R, Ormsbee LT, Feresin RG, Elam ML, Hooshmand S, Payton ME, Arjmandi BH. Daily blueberry consumption improves blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women with pre- and stage 1-hypertension: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015 Mar;115(3):369-377. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2014.11.001. Epub 2015 Jan 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25578927 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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H24123

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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