MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Melatonin treatment improves sleep quality but does not improve insulin resistance after 12 weeks of administration in rotating night shift (NS) workers, according to a study published in the January issue of Pharmacological Research.
Juliane Hannemann, Ph.D., from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, and colleagues conducted a randomized prospective study to examine the effects of 2 mg of sustained-release melatonin versus placebo in 24 rotating NS workers during 12 weeks of treatment, followed by a 12-week washout. The timing of melatonin administration (night or morning) depended on the shift schedule. Baseline profiles were compared for NS workers and 12 healthy non-night shift (NNS) working controls.
The researchers found that in NS versus NNS workers, indices of insulin resistance were significantly impaired at baseline, but there were no differences seen in oral glucose tolerance tests nor in the diurnal profiles of melatonin, cortisol, or blood pressure. There was no significant improvement observed in insulin resistance with 12 weeks of melatonin treatment, nor was there a significant impact on diurnal blood pressure or melatonin and cortisol profiles. Sleep quality was significantly impaired in NS versus NNS workers at baseline and was significantly improved with melatonin administration.
“Melatonin’s effects at the dosing scheme applied here were not sufficient to cause clinically relevant changes in diurnal blood pressure profiles, glucose tolerance, or insulin resistance indices,” the authors write.
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