Melatonin and the health of menopausal women: A systematic review.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to systematically review the health benefits of oral melatonin administration in menopausal women, focusing on its safety and efficacy.
Results Summary
Melatonin showed favorable effects on bone density, BMI, EEG patterns, and subjective sleep quality in postmenopausal women with sleep impairment. At doses of 3 mg and above, it improved climacteric symptoms, though no independent effect was found on hemodynamic measures or glucose metabolism markers, and some evidence suggested increased very low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides.
Population
Menopausal women, including postmenopausal women with preexisting sleep impairment.
Effective Dosage
3 mg and above
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
oral melatonin administration | no change | hemodynamic measures | menopausal women | no significant change | No evidence was found for an independent effect | #1 |
oral melatonin administration | no change | markers of glucose metabolism | menopausal women | no significant change | No evidence was found for an independent effect | #2 |
melatonin administration | increase | very low-density lipoprotein | menopausal women | - | levels increase | #3 |
melatonin administration | increase | triglycerides | menopausal women | - | levels increase | #4 |
melatonin treatment | increase | bone density | menopausal women | - | has a favorable effect | #5 |
melatonin treatment | decrease | BMI | menopausal women | - | has a favorable effect | #6 |
melatonin treatment | increase | EEG patterns | postmenopausal women with preexisting sleep impairment | - | improves | #7 |
melatonin treatment | increase | subjective sleep quality | postmenopausal women with preexisting sleep impairment | - | improves | #8 |
melatonin | decrease | climacteric symptoms | menopausal women | 3 mg and above | improves | #9 |
Melatonin is involved in multiple changes that characterize the aging and can potentially be a safe and effective treatment for menopausal women. The aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review of the medical literature on the health benefits of oral melatonin administration on menopausal women. The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched systematically on interventional studies that evaluated the association between oral melatonin administration and the health of menopausal women. Risk for bias was assessed for randomized, controlled studies by the RoB v.2 tool and for non-randomized trials by the ROBINS-I tool. Twenty-four studies on melatonin treatment in various aspects of women's health were included in the final systematic review. The studies included 1,173 participants. No evidence was found for an independent effect of melatonin on hemodynamic measures or markers of glucose metabolism. There is some evidence that very low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides levels increase during melatonin administration. There is a fair amount of evidence that melatonin treatment has a favorable effect on bone density and BMI. Melatonin treatment improves EEG patterns and subjective sleep quality in postmenopausal women with preexisting sleep impairment. In a dose of 3 mg and above, melatonin improves climacteric symptoms in one or more domains. The vast majority of the studies had a low risk for bias. In light of multiple health benefits and an excellent safety profile, melatonin administration should be considered in menopausal women.