Asthma Patients Cautioned on Melatonin Use

A study has found that people with asthma should consider limiting the use of melatonin as a sleep aid because higher levels of melatonin have been found to be associated with an overnight loss of lung function in asthma patients. The findings were published in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Melatonin is an important regulator of circadian rhythms in the body, especially sleep. Because of its association with sleep, it has become a popular dietary supplement sold as a treatment for jet lag and insomnia. However, researchers found that patients with nocturnal asthma had the highest levels of melatonin and the greatest drop in lung function overnight. Peak levels of melatonin averaged 67.5 picograms/milliliter in nocturnal asthmatics, 61.1 pg/ml in non-nocturnal asthmatics, and 53.5 in healthy patients. Lung function dropped an average of 18.8% in nocturnal asthmatics, 5.1% in non-nocturnal asthmatics, and increased 1.5% in healthy controls.

"Those findings, on top of previous ones linking melatonin to inflammation, suggest that all patients with asthma should avoid using melatonin supplements until more is known about their safety,” said Rand Sutherland, M.D., M.P.H., who conducted the study along with colleagues at National Jewish Medical and Research Center (Denver, CO, USA).




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