More research needed to assess if this is a modifiable risk factor, researchers say
TUESDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- In women, lower melatonin secretion is independently associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published published online April 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Ciaran J. McMullan, M.D., from Channing Division of Network Medicine in Boston, and colleagues conducted a case-control study nested within the Nurses' Health Study cohort. From 2000 to 2012, 370 women were identified who developed type 2 diabetes, as well as 370 matched controls.
The researchers found that, among cases, the median urinary ratios of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine were 28.2 ng/mg and 36.3 ng/mg among controls. There was an increased risk of diabetes among women with lower ratios of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine (multivariable odds ratio, 1.48 per unit decrease in the estimated log ratio of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine). Women in the lowest category had a multivariable odds ratio of 2.17 (95% CI, 1.18-3.98) of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to women in the highest ratio category of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin to creatinine. There was an estimated diabetes incidence rate of 4.27 cases/1,000 person-years compared for women in the highest category of melatonin secretion versus 9.27 cases/1,000 person-years in the lowest category.
"Lower melatonin secretion was independently associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes," the authors write.
One author reports financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)