Going to high altitude with anxiety and depressive symptoms
Official title: Going to Altitude With Anxious-depressive Symptoms - a Randomised Cross Over Trial in Individuals With Mental Disorders and Healthy Controls
Run by Universitaet Innsbruck · NCT05323864 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This trial will test whether a short, controlled exposure to low oxygen like that at high altitude makes people with anxiety and depressive symptoms feel more anxious or negative and changes certain blood chemical markers.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years to 65 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 68 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Universitaet Innsbruck Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Innsbruck, Tyrol) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | April 14, 2023 |
| Main results expected | July 15, 2025 |
| Study ends | December 2025 |
| Registry record updated | December 10, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT05323864 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal participants are German-speaking adults with light-to-moderate anxious-depressive symptoms, without psychotic or cognitive disorders, not pregnant or breastfeeding, living below 1000 m, and with no recent high-altitude exposure.
✕Probably not a fit
People with psychotic or cognitive disorders, severe psychiatric illness, current pregnancy or breastfeeding, permanent residence above 1000 m, or recent stays above 2500 m are unlikely to benefit or be eligible.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
Adults with light-to-moderate anxious-depressive symptoms will be brought to a controlled hypoxic environment at the University of Innsbruck to simulate high-altitude exposure for several hours. Psychological measures (negative affect and state anxiety) and blood levels of neurotransmitter precursor amino acids (PHE/TYR and KYN/TRP) will be collected before and after exposure. Investigators hypothesize a shift toward more negative affect and higher state anxiety together with changes in the specified amino-acid ratios under hypoxia. Results are intended to inform clinical guidance for people with mental illnesses planning high-altitude sojourns.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help create practical guidance to reduce risk for people with anxious-depressive symptoms who plan high-altitude trips.
How similar studies have gone: There are limited prior data specifically on hypoxia effects in people with mental illness, so this approach is relatively novel though physiological hypoxia studies exist in other populations.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * sufficient command of the German language * no psychotic or cognitive disorders * patients suffering from anxious-depressive symptoms (meeting the cut off points of light-medium in the screening for anxiety and depression symptoms) Exclusion Criteria: * pregnant or breastfeeding * permanent residence above 1000m * overnight stays at altitudes above 2500m in the previous month * exposure to 2500m or higher two weeks prior to the six-hour hypoxic exposure
Where it's running
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University of Innsbruck, Department of Sport Science
Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria Recruiting
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.