Low Doses of Melatonin to Improve Sleep in Children with ADHD: An Open-Label Trial
Metadatos
Afficher la notice complèteEditorial
MDPI
Materia
ADHD Melatonin Sleep Actigraphy Methylphenidate
Date
2023-06-28Referencia bibliográfica
Checa-Ros, A.; Muñoz-Hoyos, A.; Molina-Carballo, A.; Viejo-Boyano, I.; Chacín, M.; Bermúdez, V.; D’Marco, L. Low Doses of Melatonin to Improve Sleep in Children with ADHD: An Open-Label Trial. Children 2023, 10, 1121. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ children10071121]
Résumé
Objective. Only a few studies assessing the sleep effects of low doses of melatonin
(aMT) have been performed in the past, most of them in adults, and only one in subjects with
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim of this study was to provide evidence
of the changes induced by aMT doses as low as 1 mg in the sleep pattern of pediatric patients
with ADHD under treatment with methylphenidate (MPH). Methods. Children and adolescents
(7–15 years) with ADHD who were receiving extended-release MPH were recruited. A seven-week
sleep diary was collected prior to starting a four-week treatment with 1 mg of aMT (30 min before
bedtime). Seven-day actigraphic assessments of sleep were performed before and after treatment.
Results. Twenty-seven patients (17 males, 62.96%) participated in the study, who had been receiving
MPH for 1.57 (1.11) months. A significant increase in sleep duration (TST) was observed after one
month of treatment (463 (49) min to 485 (41) min; p < 0.040), with nonsignificant improvements in
sleep-onset latency (SOL), nocturnal awakenings, or sleep efficiency. Only minor adverse effects
were reported. Conclusion. Low doses of melatonin (1 mg) are able to increase TST in children and
adolescents with ADHD receiving treatment with psychostimulants, with an adequate tolerability
profile. Further placebo-controlled trials adjusting the time of aMT administration to the individual
circadian profile should explore the effects of low doses of this hormone to shorten SOL in this
population of patients.