The Acute Effects of Blueberries on Cognition and Mood in the Postpartum

NCT06402916 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: UReading BLUCAMP
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Blueberries are an excellent source of natural substances (flavonoids) with well-documented health benefits. Previous research has shown that consuming a serving of blueberries can improve mood in children, healthy young adults, and young adults with depressive symptoms. These results are consistent with a growing body of evidence from human and animal studies indicating that blueberries can have a beneficial effect on brain function and mental health. The postpartum period represents a challenging period whereby mood disorders such as postpartum depression become increasingly prevalent, in addition to this, mothers and fathers often report poorer cognition during this time. Therefore, it is of interest to explore whether acute blueberry supplementation can benefit mood and cognition for parents during this sensitive time. The aim of the present study is to examine whether consuming a drink containing powdered blueberries can improve mood and cognition in parents in the 0-6 month postpartum. The design follows a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled cross over design. Participants will be invited to take part in an in-person study investigating a fruit drink on mood and cognition. Participants will come to the Nutrition-cognition lab at the Psychology department at the University of Reading for a screening session, after providing informed consent, participants will return a week later to attend a 3-hr visit during which they will receive either a blueberry or placebo drink and complete computer tasks and standardised questionnaires. Participants will then return a week later and complete the same procedure, consuming the other intervention drink.

Conditions

Mood; Parents; Healthy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Mean current affect

  Assessed using scores from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. This questionnaire has 20 items that describe some feelings and emotions. The participant needs to mark how much they are experiencing these feelings on a scale from 1-5. This produces scores of Positive Affect and Negative Affect; higher scores reflect higher positive or negative mood, respectively.

  2 hours post ingestion

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Mean state anxiety

  2 hours post ingestion

• Mean subjective mood scores

  2 hours post ingestion

• Blood pressure

  2 hours post ingestion

• Mean subjective feelings

  2 hours post ingestion

• Verbal memory

  2 hours post ingestion

Other Outcomes (10)

• General diet

  Screening

• Subjective sleep scores

  Baseline

• Mean postpartum-specific anxiety symptoms

  Screening

Study Arms (2)

Blueberry drink

EXPERIMENTAL

46g freeze-dried wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) powder mixed with 250 ml water.

Dietary Supplement: Blueberry drink

Placebo drink

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

46g placebo powder matched for macronutrients, color, and flavor mixed with 250 ml water.

Dietary Supplement: Placebo drink

Interventions

Blueberry drink DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Blueberry drink equivalent to 240g fresh blueberries.

Blueberry drink

Placebo drink DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Drink containing no active ingredient.

Placebo drink

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants must be a biological mother or father to an infant aged 0-6 months.
• Have a good understanding of English language

You may not qualify if:

• Allergic to blueberries or any other Vaccinium species
• Participation in other interventional studies within the last month
• Participants with cancer, or conditions affecting the liver, heart or kidneys due to unknown effects on flavonoid metabolism

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Reading: lead

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Dr Daniel Lamport

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 2, 2024
• First Posted: May 7, 2024
• Study Start: May 20, 2024
• Primary Completion: September 1, 2025
• Study Completion: September 1, 2025
• Last Updated: May 7, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share