Clinical trial NCT06893224: Can the Belgian Coastal Environment Improve Physical and Cognitive Health in Older Adults?
Official title: Can the Belgian Coastal Environment Boost Physical and Cognitive Health in Older Adults?
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
Phase: NA
Conditions: Physiologic Monitoring
Self-report Questionnaire
Sleep Quality
Cognitive Function
Keywords: Coastal environments
Older adults
Physiological stress
Cognitive function
Sleep quality
Lead sponsor: University Ghent
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-03-25
Enrollment: 150
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The goal of this interventional study is to learn if exposure to coastal environments improves the physical and cognitive health of older adults over the age of 60. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does coastal exposure affect physical stress levels in older adults? Does coastal exposure affect self-reported stress levels in older adults? Does coastal exposure affect cognitive measures, such as sustained attention, in older adults? Does coastal exposure affect sleep quality in older adults? Is there a difference between the various components of coastal environments (e.g. dykes, dunes,...) in their effect on older adults' physical stress?

This wil be a within-subject study, in which participants get exposed to both a coastal and an urban environment to compare their response to these environments. The study will occur in two phases: in the first phase the exposure will consist of walks in the environments, in the second phase the exposure will be virtual, through immersive video-fragments.

For the first phase, participants will perform both a coastal and urban walk on different days, equipped with wearable sensors (namely a wrist- and chestband) to measure various parameters such as heart rate and skin conductivity. Before, during and after the walk saliva samples will be collected for cortisol analysis. Before and after the walks they will also answer some questions (on e.g. overall demographics but also self-reported mental health) and perform cognitive tests (to study e.g. sustained attention). For the second phase, the exposure will consist of video fragments and participants will get exposed to both environments on the same day. All the measures above will be collected as well, except for salivary cortisol.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

You are willing to make the time needed to complete the experiment. You understand and can communicate in Dutch. You are 60 years or older and retired. You are familiar with the city of Ostend. This means you visit Ostend multiple times per year and are preferably familiar with the area around the Grote Post and Fort Napoleon.

You smoke no more than 10 cigarettes per day. You are able and comfortable walking for approximately 30 minutes at an average pace without aids such as a cane or walker.

You do not have a pacemaker. You are not blind or deaf. You do not take tricyclic antidepressants or clozapine.

Exclusion Criteria:

People who cannot participate in the entire experiment, do not speak Dutch, are under 60 years old or not yet retired, have a pacemaker, are blind or deaf, take tricyclic antidepressants or clozapine, are not at all familiar with the city of Ostend, smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day, or are unable to walk for 30 minutes continuously without aids are not eligible to participate in the experiment.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Heart rate variability - Time-domain measures
timeFrame: For a period of 2,5 to 3 hours
measure: Heart rate variability - Frequency-domain measures
timeFrame: For a period of 2,5 to 3 hours
measure: Electrodermal activity
timeFrame: For a period of 2,5 to 3 hours
measure: Salivary cortisol
timeFrame: At 4 time points: before the exposure (baseline), after the seated exposure of 15 minutes, right after the walk, and 20 minutes after the walk
measure: Sustained attention - Total number of items processed
timeFrame: Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)
measure: Sustained attention - Performance
timeFrame: Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)
measure: Sustained attention - Error percentage
timeFrame: Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)
measure: Processing speed - Total correct responses
timeFrame: Immediately before and immediately after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)
measure: Processing speed - Error rate
timeFrame: Before and after the exposure to both environments (takes approximately 15 minutes)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Perceived stress
timeFrame: Immediately before and after exposure to both environments
measure: Perceived mental exhaustion
timeFrame: Immediately before and after exposure to both environments
measure: Positive mood and negative mood
timeFrame: Immediately before and after exposure to both environments
measure: Sleep quality
timeFrame: 14 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ghent
country: Belgium
facility: Ghent University
Study officials:
affiliation: University Ghent
name: Mirko Petrovic
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: