Comparing 4 approaches for perinatal depression
Official title: Perinatal Depression & Anxiety (PDA) and Maternal Gut Microbiome
Targeting Maternal Gut to Improve Mental Health Outcomes-- A Feasibility Pilot Clinical Trial
Interventions
Fish oil
1500mg EPA +1000mg DHA daily
Probiotics
Combination strain of lactobacillus and bifidobacteria
Prebiotics
Dietary consult with follow-up to ensure target fiber intake is met.
Diet Quality
one time dietary consult at enrollment to discuss strategies to improve overall diet.
Canadian Sites (1)
Sunnybrook Health Science Center
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Eligibility Criteria
See who this study is looking for18 criteria
The trial’s own eligibility text, word for word from the registry. Only the trial site can say who takes part.
Inclusion
- +Women 18-43 years old
- +12-35 weeks of gestation
- +Financially stable
- +Clinical diagnosis of lifetime depression/anxiety or PDA but currently well
- +English speaking
- +Non-smoker/alcohol/recreational drug user
Exclusion
- −Allergies to fish oils/ingredients in supplements
- −Body Mass Index (BMI)≥30
- −Low income (unable to afford basic daily needs (i.e., shelter, food, etc.)
- −Diagnosis with other major mental health disorders (Bipolar, Psychosis, Addiction, Schizophrenia);
- −Diagnosis with other severe medical conditions (i.e. epilepsy, neurological disorders, etc.)
- −Conditions that require repeated/chronic antibiotic usage
- −Having a child with significant mental/physical disability
- −Single mothers without any kind of family support,
- −Women unwilling to switch to study product(s)
- −Multiparous women with young children (i.e. one or more children less than 4 years of age at the time of delivery)
- −Non-English Readers/Speakers
- −Cigarette, alcohol and recreational drug users
In plain language
Assembled directly from this trial’s registry record. Every sentence traces to a field below — nothing here is generated or interpreted.
What this study is
This study is testing a way to prevent a condition from developing.
Phase 2Phase 2A middle-stage study looking at what a treatment does and watching for side effects.Read more →/3 — a combined study that runs the middle stage and the large comparison stage together.
What is being given or done in this study: Fish oil, Probiotics, Prebiotics, Diet Quality.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.primaryPurpose
- designModule.phases
- armsInterventionsModule.interventions[].name
How the study is run
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment, so the two can be compared.
There are 4 groups in this study.
From the trial registry
Built from this field:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Who the study is looking for
The study lists an age range of 18 years to 43 years.
The study lists female participants only.
The study does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
These are the criteria the study lists. Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.maximumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How big and how long
The study aims to enrol about 100 people.
The study is currently expected to finish around March 2028.
The main measurement is taken over: 20 months.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
What the study measures
Feasibility of participant recruitment — measured over 20 months.
Adherence to Supplement Intake (estimated using unused portion of supplements) — measured over 2 years.
Adherence to Supplement Intake (Number of missed doses/week) — measured over 2 years.
Adherence to Dietary ProtocolProtocolThe detailed plan a study must follow.Read more → (Using food frequency questionnaire) — measured over 2 years.
The study lists 1 further main measurements.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].measure
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
Source: NCT06074250 on ClinicalTrials.gov. The full registry text is further down this page — this summary never replaces it.
Not medical advice. What do these terms mean?
What is being tested — in plain terms
About Fish oilDietary supplement
1500mg EPA +1000mg DHA daily
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a dietary supplement is here: A vitamin, mineral, or other supplement being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About ProbioticsDietary supplement
Combination strain of lactobacillus and bifidobacteria
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a dietary supplement is here: A vitamin, mineral, or other supplement being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About PrebioticsBehavioural
Dietary consult with follow-up to ensure target fiber intake is met.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a behavioural is here: A programme, therapy, education, or lifestyle approach being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
About Diet QualityBehavioural
one time dietary consult at enrollment to discuss strategies to improve overall diet.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a behavioural is here: A programme, therapy, education, or lifestyle approach being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
Common questions
Answered from this trial’s registry record. Where the record doesn’t say, these answers say so rather than filling the gap.
Am I eligible for this trial?
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part. Concord cannot make that determination, and neither can any tool that has not examined you.
What the study lists: an age range of 18 years to 43 years.
The full inclusionInclusion criteriaThe things you must have or be for a study to consider you.Read more → and exclusion criteriaExclusion criteriaThe things that would prevent someone from taking part.Read more → are published on this page, exactly as the study team wrote them.
The useful next step is to bring this trial to your doctor. Answering a few questions first gives them something concrete to review.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.maximumAge
- eligibilityModule.eligibilityCriteria
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment so the two can be compared.
From the trial registry
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Would I know which treatment I am getting?
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
From the trial registry
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
Who can join?
The study lists an age range of 18 years to 43 years.
It lists female participants only.
It does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can confirm whether a particular person can take part.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.maximumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How long would this take?
The study's main measurement is taken over: 20 months.
The study as a whole is currently expected to finish around 2028-03.
How long any one person takes part can differ from the study length. The study team can tell you what the schedule looks like in practice.
From the trial registry
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
How many people are taking part?
The study aims to enrol about 100 people.
From the trial registry
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
Where is this happening?
This study lists one location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sites can open and close during a study, so confirm with the team before travelling.
From the trial registry
- trial_locations
About This Trial
Perinatal depression and anxiety (PDA) are the leading causes of maternal mortality in developed countries. Women with a history of depression have a 20 fold higher risk of PDA at subsequent pregnancies. The adverse outcomes extend beyond maternal well-being to long-term deficits in children and families. The gut-brain axis is a newly recognized key player in mental health disorders. Specifically, the microbial composition of the gut along with their metabolites are directly involved in disease onset and course. Recent clinical studies have identified diet as the most powerful environmental factor in manipulating gut microbiome. Given vulnerability and resistance of pregnant women to pharmacotherapy, particularly in those with a predisposition to mood disorders, as well as pregnant women's high motivation and commitment to improving gestational diet, a dietary/supplemental intervention to 'optimize' gut microbiome, is a favored approach in disease management. The study investigators aim to exploit microbial responsiveness to diet together with this maternal motivation, to alter the risk and severity of a universal public health concern that has dire and long-term consequences for new moms and their children. The investigators of this trial, will first study the challenges in pursuing a study aimed at changing the microbiome of pregnant women with a history of mood disorders. Pregnant women in their second trimester will be recruited. Each will be assigned or randomized to one of four groups that will use a combination of diet, supplementation with probiotics, fish oil or no intervention. Each participant will meet with the study team virtually every 3 months until 1 year after delivery. At each study visit participants will be required to complete some questionnaires about their food intake, mood, and other health related measures and will provide a stool sample using the stool collection kits provided. The findings from this study will help strategize for a larger study that will allow for comparison of the effects of diet, and/or supplementation with Omega-3 Fatty Acids (O3FA) and probiotics on the microbiome and the onset and severity of PDA.
Worth passing on?
Save it to the Care Package and send it to them, or to their doctor, in one message. Whether they follow it up is theirs to decide.
Review the Care PackageThis page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical trial eligibility can only be determined by the trial site after proper screening. Trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the most current status. Always consult your healthcare provider before making decisions about clinical trial participation.