BMJ  2006;332:550 (4 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7540.550

Letter

Does melatonin improve sleep?

Efficacy of melatonin

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Buscemi et al in their meta-analysis report that melatonin is ineffective in treating secondary sleep disorders or sleep disorders accompanying sleep restriction such as jet lag or shift work.¹ The published reports in this domain certainly show some inconsistency, and now there is inconsistency in the meta-analyses.² Numerous published studies, mostly with a positive result, have not been included, even the first controlled jet lag trial, published in the BMJ.³

Buscemi et al may have done a disservice to people who do benefit from melatonin and may in consequence be denied access (in the United Kingdom) to this prescription-only medication. For example, the authors do not mention the importance of melatonin in blind sleep disorder and delayed sleep phase syndrome. Some of the data have appeared previously in a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,³ where benefits for delayed sleep phase syndrome were identified.⁴

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Centre for Chronobiology, School of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH Arendtjo@aol.com

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Relevant Article

Efficacy and safety of exogenous melatonin for secondary sleep disorders and sleep disorders accompanying sleep restriction: meta-analysis

Nina Buscemi, Ben Vandermeer, Nicola Hooton, Rena Pandya, Lisa Tjosvold, Lisa Hartling, Sunita Vohra, Terry P Klassen, and Glen Baker
BMJ 2006 332: 385-393. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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