# Lupus Intervention Fatigue Trial (LIFT)

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $606,357

## Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by pronounced
inflammation that affects up to 1.5 million people in the US. While excess mortality has decreased in SLE
patients since the 1970's, a major ongoing cause of morbidity in this population is chronic, debilitating fatigue
that significantly decreases quality of life, and increases risk of work disability and associated health care
costs. An urgent, unmet need in the management of patients with SLE is identification of effective strategies to
reduce fatigue. Non-pharmacologic interventions have been recommended as valuable approaches for the
treatment of fatigue. Preliminary data from lupus patients reported by us and others showed that regular
aerobic exercise can improve quality of life and reduce fatigue, but studies examining how to best promote
physical activity (PA) are limited. In considering other lifestyle behaviors, there is limited literature on effects of
diet, energy balance, and/or nutrient density in SLE patients, but diet intervention has been favorably
associated with managing fatigue in other disorders (e.g., cardiovascular disease and age-related functional
decline). To study the effects of intervening on these two potential modifiable lifestyle behaviors (PA and diet)
we designed the Lupus Intervention Fatigue Trial (LIFT), formerly the Activity and Nutrition Trial in Lupus to
Energize and Renew (ANTLER), in planning grant (U34 AR064513). LIFT is a 12-month phase III randomized,
parallel group, single blind 2-arm trial designed to compare the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing
program intervention versus a patient educational program control to reduce fatigue in persons with lupus.
Each arm has a 6 month intervention with 6 month follow up. Individually tailored lifestyle counseling using
motivational interviewing and 6 monthly group support meetings are designed to increase physical activity and
improve diet quality in the intervention arm. The control arm includes!four individual phone calls checking in
with participants regarding questions about the study or from the group sessions, each lasting about 10-15
minutes and 6 monthly group educational sessions focusing on SLE symptom management. Using validated
measures, the first two specific aims for the LIFT randomized trial in persons with SLE are: 1) to implement
and evaluate the impact of the LIFT intervention on self-reported measures of fatigue using the Fatigue
Severity Score (FSS) as the primary outcome; and 2) to evaluate the impact of the LIFT intervention on
objective measures of PA, average daily non-sedentary minutes defined by light minutes/day and moderate-
vigorous minutes/day, measured objectively by a triaxial accelerometer as the secondary outcome. The third
specific aim is exploratory evaluating adherence to the LIFT dietary intervention as assessed by nutrient
density and intake of recommended eating pattern and food groups measured by the Health E...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10245263
- **Project number:** 5R01AR071091-04
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Linda S. Ehrlich-Jones
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $606,357
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10245263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10245263, Lupus Intervention Fatigue Trial (LIFT) (5R01AR071091-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10245263. Licensed CC0.

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