Melatonin may be linked to slightly higher irregular heartbeat risk
Estimated five-year heart failure risk was 0.56% in new melatonin users versus 0.55% in matched controls; estimated irregular heartbeat risk was 0.80% versus 0.71%.
5 years
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an observational study of Danish registries, researchers compared 273,167 new prescription melatonin users older than 18 with 273,167 matched nonusers. None had prior cardiovascular disease; median age was 45, and 62% were female. Melatonin use was not associated with increased estimated five-year risks of heart failure (0.56% versus 0.55%), acute coronary syndrome, conditions involving suddenly reduced blood flow to the heart (0.55% versus 0.56%), or ischemic stroke, caused by a blocked blood vessel (1.00% versus 0.99%).
The estimated five-year risk of arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat, was 0.80% in users versus 0.71% in controls. Users had more health conditions and took more antidepressants and opioids at baseline. Compared with users of zopiclone or zolpidem, two prescription sleep drugs, melatonin users had lower or similar five-year risks of the cardiovascular outcomes studied.
Why it matters
Cardiovascular safety is relevant to healthy aging when weighing the use of melatonin for insomnia.
Caveats
This observational registry analysis cannot establish cause and effect; unmeasured differences between groups may account for the arrhythmia signal. Reported in a congress abstract, the findings do not cover people with existing cardiovascular disease or necessarily settings where melatonin is sold without a prescription.
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The paper
Cardiovascular safety of melatonin: insights from nationwide Danish registries
