US EditionLong-Term Melatonin Might Harm Heart Health, Study Says
- Recently, Researchers from the American Heart Association reported that prolonged melatonin supplement use of at least 12 months is associated with higher risks of heart failure, hospital admission, or death.
- AHA researchers analysed five years of medical records comparing adults with chronic insomnia documented melatonin users to non-users, excluding those on other sleep drugs or with prior heart failure.
- The analysis showed melatonin users had a 90 per cent greater likelihood of heart failure, were 3.5 times more likely to need hospitalisation, and saw mortality rates rise from 4.3 percent to 7.8 percent.
- The study team urged further research to confirm melatonin's cardiovascular safety, while Essentia Health officials said the research is early and medical researchers noted inability to prove causation.
- In the US melatonin is sold over the counter while in the United Kingdom it is prescription-only, and limited long-term evidence prompts calls for prospective trials amid health records differences.
105 Articles
105 Articles
Sleep Doctors Want You to Stop Taking Melatonin for Sleep
Some years ago, pediatrician Dr. Judith Owens noticed a disturbing pattern. A professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital, many of her patients are children who have trouble sleeping. “I’ve been in practice for 40 years,” she says. “There has been a seismic change in the number of patients I see, particularly in sleep clinic, who are now on melatonin.” It is rare, now, for her to see a sleepless ch…
A preliminary analysis suggests that prolonged melatonin use may be associated with a higher risk of heart failure and death.
Common Supplement Shows Concerning Link to Heart Failure
New research into a popular sleeping aid has some scientists worried about long-term usage. An analysis of adults with insomnia, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, has found that people prescribed melatonin for more than a year are at greater risk of heart issues. Among more than 130,000 adults across multiple countries, those who were prescribed melatonin long-term had an 89 percent higher risk of heart failure over five years, and were twic…
Scientists Just Linked This Popular Supplement to Higher Heart Failure Risk
Here's what you should keep in mind.Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RDDesign element: Getty Images. EatingWell design.Key PointsA new study links long-term melatonin use to higher heart failure risk and death risk.The study is preliminary and doesn’t prove melatonin caused these heart-related outcomes.Most users weren’t affected, but nightly long-term use may warrant medical guidance.Melatonin is one of the most popular sleep aids, but…
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