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Friday, April 12, 2013

Low levels of melatonin may be linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes.


USA Today (4/3, Hellmich, 1.71M) reports that "people who have low levels of melatonin while they're sleeping are at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes," according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Investigators "examined the blood and urine samples of 370 women who developed type 2 diabetes from 2000 to 2012 and matched them to 370 women of the same race and age who did not develop the disease." These women, all of whom were participating in the Nurses' Health Study, "filled out questionnaires about their physical activity levels, diet, sleep habits, smoking habits and family history of type 2 diabetes."
        The NBC News (4/3, Carroll) "Vitals" blog reports, "Even after the researchers accounted for lifestyle factors, including hours of sleep, women with the lowest melatonin levels were 2.2 times as likely to develop diabetes compared to those with the highest levels." While "melatonin was found to be a predictor of diabetes risk independent of number of hours of sleep, the hormone does have an impact on the body's daily rhythms, peaking right before a person falls asleep and declining during the night."
        MedPage Today (4/3, Laino) reports, "While only women were studied," lead author Ciaran J. McMullan, MD, "said he suspects the association will hold up in men as well."
        Medscape (4/3, Nainggolan) reports, "Dr. McMullan said the next logical step would be to conduct further studies to see whether increasing melatonin levels - either endogenously via prolonged nighttime dark exposure or exogenously via supplementation - can increase insulin sensitivity and decrease the incidence of type 2 diabetes." HealthDay (4/3, Gordon) points out that the study "was funded by the National Institutes of Health."

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