The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Melatonin for sleep disturbance in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: prospective observational naturalistic study

Melatonin for sleep disturbance in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: prospective observational naturalistic study
Melatonin for sleep disturbance in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: prospective observational naturalistic study
Background: Although melatonin is increasingly used for sleep disturbances in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, evidence on effective dose and impact on specific types of sleep disturbance is limited. Method: We assessed 45 children (35 males, mean age: 6.3 ± 1.7 years) with neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 29: intellectual disability; n = 9: autism spectrum disorder; n = 7: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and sleep disturbances, treated with melatonin (mean duration: 326 days) with doses increased according to response. Results: Thirty-eight percent of children responded to low (2.5–3 mg), 31% to medium (5–6 mg) and 9% to high doses (9–10 mg) of melatonin, with a significant increase in total hours of sleep/night, decreased sleep onset delay and decreased number of awakenings/night (all: p = 0.001), as measured with sleep diaries. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Melatonin is generally effective and safe in children with neurodevelopmental conditions. Increasing above 6 mg/night adds further benefit only in a small percentage of children.
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, children, intellectual disability, melatonin, sleep
1473-7175
711-717
Ayyash, Hani F
6222ddf7-fd8b-43a8-8d76-6d54262e8ef3
Preece, Phillip
ea7644f5-bf70-4385-a2f4-db8513276815
Morton, Richard
27c7164c-6d06-4d73-8f3a-f08d52d1cffd
Cortese, Samuele
53d4bf2c-4e0e-4c77-9385-218350560fdb
Ayyash, Hani F
6222ddf7-fd8b-43a8-8d76-6d54262e8ef3
Preece, Phillip
ea7644f5-bf70-4385-a2f4-db8513276815
Morton, Richard
27c7164c-6d06-4d73-8f3a-f08d52d1cffd
Cortese, Samuele
53d4bf2c-4e0e-4c77-9385-218350560fdb

Ayyash, Hani F, Preece, Phillip, Morton, Richard and Cortese, Samuele (2015) Melatonin for sleep disturbance in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: prospective observational naturalistic study. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 15 (6), 711-717. (doi:10.1586/14737175.2015.1041511).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Although melatonin is increasingly used for sleep disturbances in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, evidence on effective dose and impact on specific types of sleep disturbance is limited. Method: We assessed 45 children (35 males, mean age: 6.3 ± 1.7 years) with neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 29: intellectual disability; n = 9: autism spectrum disorder; n = 7: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and sleep disturbances, treated with melatonin (mean duration: 326 days) with doses increased according to response. Results: Thirty-eight percent of children responded to low (2.5–3 mg), 31% to medium (5–6 mg) and 9% to high doses (9–10 mg) of melatonin, with a significant increase in total hours of sleep/night, decreased sleep onset delay and decreased number of awakenings/night (all: p = 0.001), as measured with sleep diaries. No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Melatonin is generally effective and safe in children with neurodevelopmental conditions. Increasing above 6 mg/night adds further benefit only in a small percentage of children.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 3 June 2015
Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, children, intellectual disability, melatonin, sleep
Organisations: Clinical Neuroscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 380062
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/380062
ISSN: 1473-7175
PURE UUID: edbbb64c-0b02-48c7-bb03-bd624f7b6f33
ORCID for Samuele Cortese: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5877-8075

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 19 Aug 2015 11:24
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:52

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Hani F Ayyash
Author: Phillip Preece
Author: Richard Morton
Author: Samuele Cortese ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×