Melatonin in relation to body measures, sex, age, season and the use of drugs in patients with major affective disorders and healthy subjects

Beck-Friis, Johan; Rosen, Dietrich von; Kjellman, Bengt; Ljunggren, Jan‐Gustaf; Wetterberg, Lennart

doi:10.1016/0306-4530(84)90005-2

Cited by 201 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Interestingly, we observed a substantial drop in plasma melatonin concentration after puberty, an effect that has been previously reported in humans ( 53,54 ). Circulating melatonin has been shown to be low in depressed patients, and positively affected by SSRI treatment ( 55,56 ). Corroborating our effects reported here, a diet low in omega-3 PUFAs has been shown to decrease plasma melatonin in hamsters ( 57 ), and exogenous melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists administered to rats and mice exert antidepressant-like effects in the FST ( 58, 59 ) possibly through a central serotonin-dependent mechanism ( 60 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Dietary DHA during development affects depression-like behaviors and biomarkers that emerge after puberty in adolescent rats

Weiser¹,

Wynalda²,

Salem³

et al. 2015

Journal of Lipid Research

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Dietary DHA during development affects depression-like behaviors and biomarkers that emerge after puberty in adolescent rats

Weiser¹,

Wynalda²,

Salem³

et al. 2015

Journal of Lipid Research

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“…The melatonin secretion rate in December was twice as high as in April. This finding is in agreement with previous reports from latitudes 60 -70 °N, in which serum or salivary melatonin levels of day-and night-time samples were higher in winter than in summer (1,2). Compared with summer values, daytime plasma melatonin or maximal plasma melatonin levels were elevated by 30-50% in winter.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Earlier studies from high-latitude countries have demonstrated that at some time points during the night or day, circulating or salivary melatonin reaches levels that are higher in winter than in summer (1,2), but subjects living under extreme Antarctic conditions did not exhibit any such seasonal changes in plasma melatonin (3,4). In the present study we sought answers to two questions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Spring snow lowers human melatonin

Leppäluoto

Sikkilä²,

Meyer‐Rochow³

et al. 2004

International Journal of Circumpolar Health

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Objectives. We set out to find out in which way seasonal changes of environmental luminosity could affect melatonin secretion in humans. Study design. For an entire year we collected every two months nocturnal urine samples from 20 male outdoor workers who lived and worked in an area of the circumpolar region from which exact data of solar irradiance and temperature were available. Methods. Melatonin secretion rates were assessed with our melatonin-specific radioimmunoassay. Results. Melatonin secretion was twice as high in December as in April, 0.88 ± 16 nmol/12 h (mean ± SE) vs. 0.43 ± 9 nmol/12 h, p < 0.05. Regression analyses showed that melatonin values best correlated inversely with solar irradiance reflected off the ground (the so-called 'albedo'). A tenfold increase in albedo for 1-4 weeks before the urine samplings were collected was associated with a ca. 50% reduction in melatonin secretion. The association with global irradiance was weaker and none existed with temperature or other environmental variables. Discussion. Light reaching the eyes via the snow or other reflecting surfaces appears to be most effective. These results help us to understand some of the mechanisms involved in certain biological phenomena that exhibit seasonal variations such as reproductive and selfdestructive behaviours.

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“…To ascertain medication use, participants listed any medications used during each night of urine collection. A pharmacologist subsequently grouped the reported medications into these three categories, which were selected on the basis of evidence that drugs of these types can affect melatonin levels (16)(17)(18).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residential Magnetic Fields, Light-at-Night, and Nocturnal Urinary 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin Concentration in Women

Davis

Kaune

Mirick

et al. 2001

American Journal of Epidemiology

107

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Exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields may increase breast cancer risk by suppressing the normal nocturnal rise in melatonin. This 1994 Washington State study investigated whether such exposure was associated with lower nocturnal urinary concentration of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin in 203 women aged 20-74 years with no history of breast cancer. Each woman was interviewed and provided data on the following for a 72-hour period at two different seasons of the year: 1) magnetic field and ambient light measured every 30 seconds in her bedroom, 2) personal magnetic field measured at 30-second intervals, and 3) complete nighttime urine samples on three consecutive nights. Lower nocturnal urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin level was associated with more hours of daylight, older age, higher body mass index, current alcohol consumption, and current use of medications classified as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, or psychotropics. After adjustment for these factors, higher bedroom magnetic field level was associated with significantly lower urinary concentration of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin during the same night, primarily in women who used these medications and during times of the year with the fewest hours of darkness. These results suggest that exposure to nighttime residential 60-Hz magnetic fields can depress the normal nocturnal rise in melatonin. It has been suggested that exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields may increase the risk of breast cancer by suppressing the normal nocturnal rise in melatonin production and release (1), thereby resulting in increased levels of circulating estrogen. Several lines of inquiry have been pursued to investigate a possible link between pineal function, circulating estrogen level, and breast cancer risk (summarized by Stevens and Davis and by Brainard et al. (2, 3)). Other than limited evidence that blood melatonin levels are reduced in human volunteers exposed to magnetic fields (4), there have been few studies of the effect of magnetic field exposure on pineal function in humans. Although some results from experimental and occupational studies suggest that nocturnal melatonin levels can be reduced by exposure to magnetic fields, the evidence thus far is inconsistent and incomplete (5-10). More importantly, it remains unknown whether such exposures can alter the endogenous hormonal environment in women in a manner that might be important in the etiology of breast cancer. Therefore, the present study was undertaken in 1994-1996 to investigate, for the first known time in women, whether exposure to magnetic fields and/or light-at-night is associated with lower nocturnal concentration of the primary metabolite of melatonin found in the urine (6-sulfatoxymelatonin).

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Melatonin in relation to body measures, sex, age, season and the use of drugs in patients with major affective disorders and healthy subjects

Cited by 201 publications

References 29 publications

Dietary DHA during development affects depression-like behaviors and biomarkers that emerge after puberty in adolescent rats

Dietary DHA during development affects depression-like behaviors and biomarkers that emerge after puberty in adolescent rats

Spring snow lowers human melatonin

Residential Magnetic Fields, Light-at-Night, and Nocturnal Urinary 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin Concentration in Women

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