SynthesisSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2025
Factors influencing the effect of melatonin on sleep quality in children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Risk factors and a prediction model for ASD symptoms in Chinese preschool children.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Sleep Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Developmental Impact and Intervention Strategies.Brain sciences · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. The prevalence of ASD has risen globally. Sleep disturbances exacerbates the core symptoms of children with ASD, and numerous studies demonstrated that melatonin is efficacious in treating autism-related insomnia in children. This study intended to comprehensively analyze the therapeutic effects of melatonin on sleep disturbances in children with autism, focusing on effect sizes across different treatment parameters, including medication dosage, type, treatment course, and the age of the children. Additionally, the analysis examines the effects of melatonin on various sleep indicators. Through systematic review and meta-analyses, data from existing studies were collected and categorizing them based on medication parameters and the age of the participants. The influence of melatonin on multiple sleep indicators was evaluated, revealing that melatonin significantly improves sleep quality and total sleep time in children with autism. The Hedges' g values for these two indicators were 0.75 and 0.58, with both P-values less than 0.05. The overall effect of melatonin displayed a parabolic relationship with dosage, achieving its optimal effectiveness at approximately 5.7 mg. Subject age also influenced the therapeutic effect with optimal results observed in children aged 10 years and older, where the Hedges' g effect size reached 0.09. Melatonin shows substantial effectiveness in improving the sleep in children with ASD, with minimal and mild adverse reactions. These findings support the development of individualized treatment approaches for melatonin administration in this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40768003What 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.