SynthesisDevelopmental medicine and child neurology2019
Oral melatonin for non-respiratory sleep disturbance in children with neurodisabilities: systematic review and meta-analyses.
Synthesis in Developmental medicine and child neurology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of melatonin supplementation for improving sleep quality and disease severity in children with atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Adverse Events Associated with Melatonin for the Treatment of Primary or Secondary Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review.CNS drugs · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of Liposomal Melatonin in sleep EEG in Childhood: A Double Blind Case Control Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Fecal melatonin as a biomarker of emerging circadian maturity and gut microbiota in infancy.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2026Article
- Exogenous Melatonin and Sleep Quality: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- The Pharmacokinetics, Dosage, Preparation Forms, and Efficacy of Orally Administered Melatonin for Non-Organic Sleep Disorders in Autism Spectrum Disorder During Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Explosive and Harmful Impulses: A Subset of Child and Adolescent-to-Parent Violence and Abuse.Journal of interpersonal violence · 2024Article
- Morbidity among Adolescent Hypnotic Drug Users in Norway: An Observational Population-Based Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Melatonin as a Mediator of the Gut Microbiota-Host Interaction: Implications for Health and Disease.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Variation in Twitter posts referencing pediatric sleep aids.Sleep health · 2023Article
- The short-term and long-term adverse effects of melatonin treatment in children and adolescents: a systematic review and GRADE assessment.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
- Use of melatonin in children and adolescents with idiopathic chronic insomnia: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and clinical recommendation.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
- Parental Experiences of Melatonin Administration to Manage Sleep Disturbances in Autistic Children and Adolescent in the UK.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Common Issues for General Practitioners in the Medical Management of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Care.The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2023Article
- Article
- Negative impact of insomnia and daytime sleepiness on quality of life in individuals with the cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 deficiency disorder.Journal of sleep research · 2022Article
- Management of sleep disorders among children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders: A practical guide for clinicians.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2022Review
- Understanding patient characteristics and medication prescriptions in children with mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders referred to a sleep clinic-A quality improvement/quality assurance analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Effect of melatonin in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and sleep disorders.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimTo evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacological interventions for managing non-respiratory sleep disturbances in children with neurodisabilities.
methodWe performed a systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We searched 16 databases, grey literature, and reference lists of included papers up to February 2017. Data were extracted and assessed for quality by two researchers (B.B., C.M., G.S., A.S., A.P.).
resultsThirteen trials were included, all evaluating oral melatonin. All except one were at high or unclear risk of bias. There was a statistically significant increase in diary-reported total sleep time for melatonin compared with placebo (pooled mean difference 29.6min, 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.9-52.4, p=0.01). Statistical heterogeneity was high (97%). For the single RCT with low risk of bias, the unadjusted mean difference in total sleep time was 13.2 minutes (95% CI -13.3 to 39.7) favouring melatonin, while the mean difference adjusted for baseline total sleep time was statistically significant (22.4min, 95% CI 0.5-44.3, p=0.04). Adverse event profile suggested that melatonin was well-tolerated.
interpretationThere is a paucity of evidence on managing sleep disturbances in children with neurodisabilities, and it is mostly of limited scope and poor quality. There is evidence of the benefit and safety of melatonin compared with placebo, although the extent of this benefit is unclear. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Melatonin for the management of non-respiratory sleep disturbances in children with neurodisabilities was well tolerated with minimal adverse effects. The extent of benefit and which children might benefit most from melatonin use is uncertain. Benefit may be greatest in those with autism spectrum disorder; however, this finding should be interpreted with caution.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.