Melatonin and health: an umbrella review of health outcomes and biological mechanisms of action

BMC Medicine

Michael Soljak¹  Ushashree Divakar¹  Ram Bajpai¹  Pawel P. Posadzki¹  Shweta Bajpai¹  Ei Ei Khaing Nang¹  Bhone Myint Kyaw¹  Josip Car¹  Gerard Dunleavy¹  Krister Jarbrink¹  George I. Christopoulos²  Chee Kiong Soh³  Nicola J. Roberts⁴  Amnon Brzezinski⁵ 

[1] Centre for Population Health Sciences, 11 Mandalay Road, Level 18 Clinical Sciences Building, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Novena Campus, Nanyang Technological University;Nanyang Business School, Division of Strategy Management and Organisation, Nanyang Technological University;School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University;School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University;The Hebrew University Medical School, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center;

关键词: Melatonin;    Health;    Effectiveness;    Umbrella review;    Systematic reviews;    Meta-analyses;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12916-017-1000-8

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Our aims were to evaluate critically the evidence from systematic reviews as well as narrative reviews of the effects of melatonin (MLT) on health and to identify the potential mechanisms of action involved. Methods An umbrella review of the evidence across systematic reviews and narrative reviews of endogenous and exogenous (supplementation) MLT was undertaken. The Oxman checklist for assessing the methodological quality of the included systematic reviews was utilised. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CENTRAL, PsycINFO and CINAHL. In addition, reference lists were screened. We included reviews of the effects of MLT on any type of health-related outcome measure. Results Altogether, 195 reviews met the inclusion criteria. Most were of low methodological quality (mean -4.5, standard deviation 6.7). Of those, 164 did not pool the data and were synthesised narratively (qualitatively) whereas the remaining 31 used meta-analytic techniques and were synthesised quantitatively. Seven meta-analyses were significant with P values less than 0.001 under the random-effects model. These pertained to sleep latency, pre-operative anxiety, prevention of agitation and risk of breast cancer. Conclusions There is an abundance of reviews evaluating the effects of exogenous and endogenous MLT on health. In general, MLT has been shown to be associated with a wide variety of health outcomes in clinically and methodologically heterogeneous populations. Many reviews stressed the need for more high-quality randomised clinical trials to reduce the existing uncertainties.

【 授权许可】

Unknown