Objectives

Testing smartphone-based sport and bright light interventions as a new approaches to treat adolescents and young adults with ADHD and prevent comorbidities such as depression and obesity.

Term

• Januar 2016 - Juni 2021

Participating institutions and partners

• Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ebner-Priemer
  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
  Department of Sport and Sport Science, Chair of Applied Psychology

• Prof. Jonna Kuntsi
  King’s College London
  Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience

• Prof. Andreas Reif
  Klinikum der Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt/Main
  Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy

• Prof. Christine Freitag
  University Hospital of Frankfurt/Main
  Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy

• Prof. Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga
  Hospital Universitari Vall d‘Hebron
  Department of Psychiatry

• Prof. Jan Buitelaar
  Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour
  Departments of Human Genetics, Psychiatry and Cognitive Neuroscience

As a part of the EU-funded research project Comorbid Conditions of ADHD (CoCA) we are studying the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions, which promise to alleviate some core symptoms of ADHD and it’s comorbidities in a sample of ADHD-diagnosed patients and healthy controls. We therefore developed the mHealthApp, enabling us to raise a multitude of physio- and psychometric data in an ambulatory setting. Participants keep a eDiary, by fulfilling repeated questionnaires on the smartphone four times a day. The diary comprises questions to check for the current mood, social context as well as the presence of positive and negative events, occurring in participants’ daily life. The activity sensor records measurement signals including 3D-accelerometry, light situation and gyroscopy, making it possible to calculate a large number of secondary parameters, such as energy expenditure, amout of steps or sleep duration. The sports- and light-therapies tested within are led by the mHealthApp through triggers, instructional videos and daily feedback.