Programmed environmental illumination during autologous stem cell transplantation hospitalization for the treatment of multiple myeloma reduces severity of depression: A preliminary randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Over a third of multiple myeloma (MM) patients report clinical levels of depression during autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) hospitalization. We report preliminary results from a randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of Programmed Environmental Illumination (PEI) of hospital rooms on depression. METHODS: Patients (N = 187) scheduled to receive an ASCT were assessed for eligibility. Those who met study eligibility criteria (n = 44) were randomly assigned to one of two PEI conditions involving delivery of either circadian active bright white light (BWL) or circadian inactive dim white light (DWL) throughout the room from 7 to 10 am daily during hospitalization. Patients completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D) prior to hospitalization, at days 2 and 7 post‐transplant, and on the third day of engraftment. RESULTS: General linear model analyses revealed no difference between the groups in CES‐D total score at baseline (P = 0.7859). A longitudinal linear mixed model analysis revealed a significant interaction between time of assessment and light condition [F(3,107) = 2.90; P = 0.0386; ɳ(2 )= 0.08)], indicating that PEI prevented the development of depression during hospitalization, with effects reaching significance by the third day of engraftment. At the third day of engraftment, 68.4% of the participants in the DWL comparison condition met the criteria for clinically significant depression compared to 42.1% in the BWL condition. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that PEI using BWL during MM ASCT hospitalization is effective in reducing the development of depression. Future studies should examine the mechanisms whereby PEI improves depression.