Folks using melatonin supplements as a sleep aid might be putting themselves at risk for future heart problems, a new study says.
Adults with insomnia who'd been using melatonin for a year or more had 90% higher odds of heart failure, researchers are scheduled to report Nov. 10 in New Orleans at a meeting of the American Heart Association.
Further, people taking melatonin are nearly 3.5 times more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure, researchers found.
"Melatonin supplements are widely thought of as a safe and 'natural' option to support better sleep, so it was striking to see such consistent and significant increases in serious health outcomes, even after balancing for many other risk factors," lead researcher Dr. Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi said in a news release. He's chief resident in internal medicine at SUNY Downstate/Kings County Primary Care in Brooklyn, New York.
Melatonin is a hormone that naturally occurs in the body and helps regulate people's sleep-wake cycle. Levels increase during darkness and decrease during daylight.
