A summary of published research, not medical advice. See the Disclaimer.
All 676 studies in the study browser
Included: human randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses on melatonin indexed in PubMed. A PubMed search on October 15, 2026 returned 1428 records. 676 remain after excluding protocols, retractions, comments, papers that did not study melatonin as the intervention or exposure and trials that measured no effect covered in the article. Below are the 150 highest-scored of 242 reviews and the 25 highest-scored individual studies. The study browser has the rest.
Scores run from 1 to 5 and rate study design only. The rules and reason codes are on Study Scores. Each finding restates the abstract's own conclusion.
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| Score | Study | Design, n | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 (MA +large) | Liu, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 2000 studies, n=658,585 | One in three Australian residents in RACFs use benzodiazepines and/or Z-drugs. Targeted interventions are needed to ensure their use is consistent with evidence-based practice and residents' clinical needs. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Wu, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 2025 studies, n=2,028 | Although treatment effect estimates were comparable with conventional analgesics, most did not reach minimal clinically important difference thresholds and the certainty of evidence was low to moderate. Melatonin may be... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Chaves-Filho, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 24 studies, n=3,680 | Additionally, they appear to be safe while offering potential benefits in reducing ICU length of stay and duration of mechanical ventilation. However, the magnitude of effect was modest, with low-certainty evidence and moderate... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Dias, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 27 studies | The meta-analysis showed no significant reduction in fasting glucose levels. However, improvements were observed in secondary metabolic outcomes related to glycemic control and insulin resistance, including HbA1c, fasting... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Mohammadi, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 63 studies | No significant effects of melatonin were observed on body weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage, body mass index, fasting insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, hemoglobin A1c, triglycerides,... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Kelleher, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 18 studies | There was a very low certainty of evidence that melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists were associated with reductions in ICU and hospital LOS in ICU patients overall. However, further research is needed for surgical patients... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Bruno, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 21 studies | Melatonin reached the maximal efficacy between 2 and 4 mg/day. Our results suggest a dose and time of administration that may enhance melatonin's sleep promoting effects (2-4 mg, 3 h before bedtime) and, if replicated by large... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Tang, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 32 studies, n=3,895 | Our findings suggest that melatonin administration in the critically ill may improve perceived sleep and reduce delirium, without increasing adverse effects. Certainty of evidence was negatively affected by the risk of bias and... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Yu, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 30 studies, n=5,093 | The funding agency had no role in the design or conduct of the study. The protocol for this review is available via DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD010145. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Veiga, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 17 studies | Melatonin had beneficial effects such as the improvement in the fertilization rate, although the authors did not obtain significance in the clinical pregnancy rate. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Cruz-Sanabria, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 26 studies | Meta-regression models showed that insomnia status (β = 0.50, p < 0.001) and time between treatment administration and the sleep episode (β = -0.16, p = 0.023) were significant predictors of sleep onset latency, while the time of... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Shin, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 16 studies, n=1,981 | Perioperative melatonin or melatonin agonist treatment suppressed POD without severe adverse events, particularly at higher doses, during the early postoperative period, and after cardiopulmonary surgery. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Drummond, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 21 studies | The data indicate that melatonin is not an ergogenic hormone. In contrast, melatonin supplementation improves post-exercise recovery, even without altering its secretion. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Wada, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 33 studies, n=4,850 | This study provides evidence of the potential effects of MRAs in preventing delirium and reducing mortality. Further research is required to elucidate the therapeutic potential of MRAs for delirium and identify specific patient... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Maruani, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 22 studies, n=4,875 | PR melatonin and ramelteon appear efficacious compared with placebo for insomnia symptoms with PR melatonin showing mostly small to medium effect sizes. PR melatonin for individuals with a mean age ≥ 55 and ramelteon show larger... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Mombelli, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 30 studies | We found a high variability between study protocols likely impacting the results of the meta-analysis. Future randomized control trials studies, stratified by pediatric age classes, are needed in order to provide clear... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Shokri-Mashhadi, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 65 studies | The present study revealed that melatonin supplementation has a decreasing effect on depression in all duration of studies and doses subgroup and in age more than 65 years in depression studies but heterogenicity of the included... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Choi, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 24 studies | Melatonin did not appear to be effective in adults but might be effective in children and adolescents with chronic insomnia for both comorbid insomnia and non-comorbid insomnia. Further studies are needed to establish the... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Fan, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 19 studies, n=2,101 | The findings showed that MLT did not improve the QoL, sleep quality, fatigue, pain or stomatitis severity among patients with cancer. It had a limited effect on decreasing the stomatitis rate and easing depression. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Salanitro, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 2021 studies, n=21 | No evidence of significant differences between melatonin and placebo was found in terms of tolerability. We discuss clinical and research implications of our findings. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Zarezadeh, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 16 studies | Results of the current meta-analysis showed that melatonin supplementation had a significant impact on attenuating of oxidative stress and enhancing antioxidant performance. Melatonin supplementation could be suggested as a safe... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Braam, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 68 studies, n=17,847 | This late increase may suggest the premature death of individuals with low aMT6s levels, as lower aMT6s levels are found in various disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Our aMT6s... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Miola, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 41 studies, n=248 | Melatonin/ramelteon augmentation may be beneficial for non-anthropometric metabolic syndrome components in patients treated with antipsychotics. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Fatemeh, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 23 studies | We found that the treatment with exogenous melatonin has positive effects on sleep quality as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in adult. In adults with respiratory diseases, metabolic disorders, primary sleep... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Delpino, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 23 studies | The results demonstrated that melatonin supplementation was responsible for significantly reducing body weight. More studies are needed before melatonin can be recommended for weight loss. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Akhavan Rezayat, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 1152 studies | Melatonin could reduce the progress of NAFLD. It might also decrement hepatic function parameters. Thus, it could be used for managing NAFLD and possibly as part of the treatment plan for patients with NAFLD. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Cho, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 31 studies, n=1,517 | Melatonin is safe with few side effects, which makes it an excellent agent for prevention of inflammatory disorders. Because chronic inflammation increases with aging and inflammation plays a role in the etiology of numerous... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Wang, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 2019 studies, n=1,102 | Given the low quality of evidence, minor degree of VAS score reduction, and inconclusive trial sequential analysis of postoperative opioid consumption, this meta-analysis neither supports nor opposes the effect of melatonin on... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Madsen, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 27 studies, n=2,319 | There was little or no difference in anxiety when melatonin was compared with benzodiazepines. Thus, melatonin may have a similar effect to benzodiazepines in reducing preoperative and postoperative anxiety in adults. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Ghorbaninejad, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 15 studies | The present study showed a promising effect of melatonin administration for reducing MDA, PCO, and increasing TAC levels. However, further studies especially with more attention to PCO level assessment are needed to confirm the... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Tseng, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 25 studies, n=4,499 | Furthermore, oral melatonin 3 mg (immediate-release) at bedtime was the most preferred pharmacological intervention among all of the investigated interventions when improvements in migraine frequency, response rate, dropout rate,... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Veiga, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 570 studies | The metanalyses of the studies demonstrated low levels of melatonin in breast cancer patients (n=963) compared with control patients (n= 1332), with a mean difference between the studies of -3.54 (CI -6.01, -1.06). Another... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Zhang, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 2018 studies, n=250 | Melatonin intervention has no significant influence on well-being, sleepiness, sleep quality, pain intensity after 1 and 3 hours, headache, depression, and dizziness for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Henderson, 2018 | Meta-analysis, 2017 studies, n=120 | Findings showed that administration of melatonin as adjunctive therapy significantly reduced an inflammatory biomarker and improved sepsis status in neonate. Larger scale studies with higher validity are needed to demonstrate... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Auld, 2017 | Meta-analysis, 5030 studies | These findings highlight the potential importance of melatonin in treating certain first degree sleep disorders. The development of large-scale, randomised, controlled trials is recommended to provide further evidence for... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Chen, 2016 | Meta-analysis, 2015 studies, n=669 | Melatonin supplementation had a significant preventive effect in decreasing the incidence of delirium in elderly patients that were presented to medical wards. Further studies should provide sufficient evidence about the effect... |
| 5 (MA +large) | Seely, 2012 | Meta-analysis, 21 studies | MLT may benefit cancer patients who are also receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy, supportive therapy, or palliative therapy by improving survival and ameliorating the side effects of chemotherapy. |
| 5 (MA +large) | Brzezinski, 2005 | Meta-analysis, 17 studies, n=284 | Since 15 of the 17 studies enrolled healthy subjects or people with no relevant medical condition other than insomnia, the analysis was also done including only these 15 studies. The sleep onset results were changed to 3.9 min... |
| 4 (MA) | Panhwar, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies, n=561 | No significant effects were observed for emotional, social, or physical functioning, nor for gastrointestinal, pain, or sleep-related domains.ConclusionBased on limited number of studies, melatonin supplementation appears to be a... |
| 4 (MA) | Abusamak, 2026 | Meta-analysis, n=828 | Melatonin as an adjunct to NSPT may provide short-term improvements in CAL, PPD, and glycemic control. However, substantial heterogeneity and wide prediction intervals limit confidence in consistent clinical benefit across populations. |
| 4 (MA) | Etesamnia, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 12 studies | Melatonin supplementation may reduce fatigue in cancer patients, particularly at doses of 5-15 mg/day and with short-term use. Nonetheless, the certainty of evidence remains very low, highlighting the need for high-quality,... |
| 4 (MA) | Yazdanpanah, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies, n=227 | Melatonin demonstrates variable utility following spine surgery, with generally consistent anxiolysis and frequent benefit versus placebo but less consistent and comparatively weaker efficacy relative to active pharmacologic... |
| 4 (MA) | Borges, 2026 | Meta-analysis, n=895 | Perioperative melatonin was associated with reduced POD in elderly surgical patients, with an apparent dose-response at ≥5 mg. Ramelteon did not demonstrate benefit in the available trials. |
| 4 (MA) | Abouelmagd, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies | Melatonin demonstrates benefits over placebo for reducing migraine burden and improving patient-reported outcomes, with a favourable safety profile. While amitriptyline remains more potent for several efficacy endpoints,... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Ndinganire, 2026 | Systematic review, 41 studies | A layer of melatoninergic biology that is different from the traditional pineal endocrine signal and has biological and clinical significance is autocrine melatonin signaling in the pineal and numerous extrapineal locations.... |
| 4 (MA) | Yousef, 2026 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies, n=409 | Melatonin is a well-tolerated treatment that improves sleep quality, sleep onset latency, and total sleep time in PD. However, improvements in subjective sleep quality assessments did not meet minimal clinically important... |
| 4 (MA) | Tang, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies | As the outcomes of ART were influenced by multiple factors, MT supplementation may not significantly improve clinical pregnancy or live birth rate. However, MT appears to have a positive effect on oocyte and embryo quality,... |
| 4 (MA) | Mdluli, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies | Melatonin yields modest improvements in sleep duration and cognition that approach clinically important thresholds but fall short of definitive efficacy. Larger, rigorously designed RCTs with harmonised outcomes and pre-specified... |
| 4 (MA) | Lakbar, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies, n=2,209 | The results suggest that compared to placebo, melatonin does not reduce delirium incidence in critically ill patients. Similarly, no effect was observed on mortality. |
| 4 (MA) | Kasliwal, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | The results demonstrated the overall estimated effect from the fixed-effects model (SMD = 0.862, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.517-1.207, p < 0.001) and the random-effects model (SMD = 0.869, 95% CI: 0.499-1.238, p <... |
| 4 (MA) | Yang, 2025 | Meta-analysis | 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... |
| 4 (MA) | Lv, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n=427 | This meta-analysis suggests that melatonin supplementation significantly reduces HbA1c levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to placebo, indicating potential benefits for long-term glycemic control. However,... |
| 4 (MA) | Zrineh, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies, n=206 | Melatonin may improve sleep quality and reduce daytime sleepiness in PD patients, particularly with short-term use of immediate-release formulations. |
| 4 (MA) | Sun, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies, n=421 | Melatonin, when used as an adjuvant therapy, significantly reduces mortality and lowers the levels of the inflammatory marker CRP in patients with sepsis, while also improving their physical condition. However, due to the limited... |
| 4 (MA +large -nonRCT) | Ghasemi, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 159 studies | This meta-analysis indicates that melatonin may protect against drug-induced AKI in animal models but is not effective in clinical studies and that melatonin has no significant effect on contrast-induced AKI. Owing to the... |
| 4 (MA) | Li, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies | Melatonin supplementation may relieve CRF, especially for intervention durations of ≥13 weeks. |
| 4 (MA) | Ponde, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies, n=774 | The review showed that melatonin is comparable to midazolam in achieving sedation for facilitating inhalational induction in pediatric patients. The review showed no significant difference in reduction of anxiety in the... |
| 4 (MA) | Abadi, 2025 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | According to the results of the current meta-analysis, persons with type 2 diabetes who supplement with melatonin had improved glycemic control. It looks that supplementing with melatonin at a dose exceeding 6 mg daily for over a... |
| 4 (MA) | Liu, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 13 studies, n=2,086 | Melatonin has been demonstrated to exert a protective effect on delirium in elderly patients who are hospitalized, particularly in the context of perioperative care. |
| 4 (SR +large) | Fayazi, 2024 | Systematic review, 6114 studies | According to most evidence, melatonin supplementation may decrease fasting insulin and HOMA-IR and increase QUICKI but may not affect FPG. |
| 4 (MA) | Mohammadpour Fard, 2024 | Meta-analysis, n=823 | Melatonin supplementation is a promising complementary strategy to attenuate oxidative stress and inflammation in diabetic patients. |
| 4 (MA) | Ziaei, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies | Melatonin is a potential antioxidant that may prevent damage from oxidative stress in patients with PCOS. However, the clear effect of melatonin supplementation on cardiometabolic risk factors, hormonal outcomes, and... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Del Casale, 2024 | Systematic review, 62 studies | PRM in circadian medicine is an effective chronopharmaceutical for restoring the sleep-wake rhythm in patients with insomnia disorder. This efficacy may also extend to sleep disorders associated with mood, neurodevelopmental and... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Celorrio San Miguel, 2024 | Systematic review, 2024 studies | Therefore, the true efficiency of melatonin to directly improve sports performance remains to be assessed. Nevertheless, an indirect effect of melatonin supplementation in sports performance could be evaluated through... |
| 4 (MA) | Zhao, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies, n=2,002 | Melatonin may decrease the incidence of delirium for special ICU patients. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022354874. |
| 4 (MA) | Terao, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies, n=4,599 | Melatonin may be a better potential disease-modifying treatment for cognitive decline in mild AD and MCI. Aerobic exercise for a short time might also be better than donanemab, lecanemab and aducanumab if continued, as it is well... |
| 4 (MA) | Liu, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies | This systematic review found that add-on melatonin therapy improved sleep latency and seizure severity in patients with epilepsy. However, several of the included studies did not systematically assess sleep quality, seizures, and... |
| 4 (MA) | Lu, 2024 | Meta-analysis | The findings of this study indicate that exposure to nocturnal light among night shift workers leads to inhibition of melatonin secretion. |
| 4 (MA) | Demirhan Kayacik, 2024 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies | Melatonin is promising as a potential treatment to help depression and anxiety in the postmenopausal period. More high-quality studies are needed to determine their safety. |
| 4 (MA) | Zhang, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n=951 | Melatonin premedication significantly decreases the incidence of EA compared with placebos and midazolam. Dexmedetomidine premedication has a stronger effect than melatonin in preventing EA. Nevertheless, further studies are... |
| 4 (MA) | Jiang, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies, n=777 | Existing evidence suggested that perioperative use of melatonin can prevent POD in elderly patients. |
| 4 (MA) | Mohamed Taha, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies, n=19 | Melatonin was found to have substantial effects on COVID-19 patients when used as adjuvant therapy, enhancing clinical improvement and decreasing time to recovery with a shorter length of hospital stay and a shorter duration of... |
| 4 (MA +large -nonRCT) | Dehdari Ebrahimi, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 38 studies | In male rodents, melatonin therapy was related to improved testicular histopathology, reproductive hormones, testis and body weights, and reduced levels of oxidative markers in testicular tissues of male rodents. Future... |
| 4 (MA) | Duan, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies, n=2,374 | Melatonin reduced the incidence of delirium in CCU patients, but did not significantly reduce the incidence of delirium in GICU patients. |
| 4 (MA) | Albzea, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies, n=754 | This research offers a safe and affordable pain management method for this population, which has clinical consequences. Further research is needed to validate these findings and determine the best melatonin dosage and timing. |
| 4 (MA) | Yang, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies | In our study, the present results do not support a direct effect of melatonin use on the reduction of AKI. More well-designed clinical studies with larger sample size are required in the future. |
| 4 (MA) | Barnes, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies, n=1,244 | This review found that melatonin may reduce the incidence of POD in adults undergoing surgery. However, included studies displayed inconsistency in their methodology and outcome reporting. |
| 4 (MA) | Tsukinaga, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies, n=516 | Our results indicate that melatonin supplementation does not improve postoperative sleep quality measured with the VAS compared with placebo in adult patients (GRADE: moderate). |
| 4 (MA +large -nonRCT) | Dehdari Ebrahimi, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 41 studies | This study concludes that melatonin therapy was associated with improved testicular histopathological characteristics, reproductive hormonal panel, and tissue markers of oxidative stress in male rodents with physical, ischemic,... |
| 4 (MA +large -nonRCT) | Li, 2023 | Meta-analysis, 64 studies | Our research findings showed that melatonin supplementation could significantly reduce the levels of oxidative indicators including MDA, LPO and NO and elevate the levels of antioxidant indicators including GSH, GPx and SOD so as... |
| 4 (MA) | Nogueira, 2023 | Meta-analysis | According to the global analysis, the wake after sleep onset and night awakening parameters were not statistically significant. Melatonin has possible efficacy over total time, latency, and efficiency sleep parameters. |
| 4 (MA) | Yan, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 12 studies, n=2,538 | This meta-analysis found that early administration of melatonin may result in a decreased delirium prevalence in critically ill patients. However, the sensitivity analysis of high-quality studies did not support this finding. |
| 4 (MA) | Wang, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies, n=338 | The meta-analysis showed that melatonin had the beneficial effects for COVID-19 prevention and treatment as an adjunctive agent in combination with basic treatment for the treatment. |
| 4 (MA) | Maneeton, 2022 | Meta-analysis | Based on this review, melatonin could prevent delirium with a small effect size. However, ramelteon did not show efficacy in preventing delirium. |
| 4 (SR +large) | San-Miguel, 2022 | Systematic review, 29 studies | In addition, the indolamine influenced different molecular processes, such as hepatocyte apoptosis, modulation of autophagy and mitophagy, restoration of circadian rhythms, and modulation of microRNAs, among others. Although some... |
| 4 (MA) | McGowan, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies, n=1,279 | There is a paucity of studies examining pharmacological interventions for sleep and circadian rhythm disturbance in BD. Few studies assessed sleep-related symptoms, and none quantitatively examined endogenous melatonin patterns... |
| 4 (MA) | Liu, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies, n=412 | We found that adjunctive melatonin supplementation can significantly improve the periodontal status after non-surgical treatment, suggesting that melatonin may be a new adjuvant therapy for periodontitis when non-surgical... |
| 4 (MA) | Lv, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n=631 | The results indicated that the cardioprotective function of melatonin for MIRI was influenced by the route and timing regimen of melatonin administration; the mechanism of which may be associated with the production of... |
| 4 (MA) | Lim, 2022 | Meta-analysis | Research on melatonin interventions to treat clinical symptoms and sleep problems among diverse health conditions was identified and provided considerable evidence. Future well-designed randomized clinical trials of high quality... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Godfrey, 2022 | Systematic review, 519 studies | However, the graphs depicted represent the best possible estimation of the melatonin profile in a healthy, elderly population. Future research in the melatonin profile within this population should focus on clearly defined... |
| 4 (SR +large) | de Oliveira, 2022 | Systematic review, 25 studies, n=10 | In addition, it showed anxiolytic potential in patients that were submitted to dental procedures. In conclusion, melatonin favored the treatment of oral changes when used topically and systemically. |
| 4 (MA) | Wang, 2022 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n=1,452 | Sensitivity analyses suggested that MMA also did not reduce the occurrence of POD in elderly patients (age ≥65 years) (6 trails, 810 patients, RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.38-1.32), patients given melatonin (4 trails, 806 patients, RR 0.78,... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Meng, 2021 | Systematic review, 100 studies | The structure and normal physiological functions of melatonin have been intensively studied in the past few years. And clinical application research and target of melatonin treatment for different diseases and target-based drug... |
| 4 (MA) | Li, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies, n=376 | We conclude that melatonin ameliorated hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and insulin sensitivity, and the results are an update of a previous meta-analysis. Although more investigations are required, we clearly provide... |
| 4 (MA) | Mejlhede, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies | This meta-analysis including RCT indicates that an oral melatonin supplement during IVF-treatment can increase the number of mature oocytes, and a trend for increase CPR, albeit not significant. Most of the included studies were small. |
| 4 (MA) | Lauritzen, 2021 | Meta-analysis | With the available literature, melatonin seems to be a glucose-metabolic safe sleep aid in patients with metabolic diseases and in healthy adults. It may even have beneficial glucose-metabolic effects as fasting insulin levels... |
| 4 (MA) | Delpino, 2021 | Meta-analysis | Our results showed that melatonin supplementation was useful for reducing diabetes parameters when compared to placebo. |
| 4 (SR +large) | Jafari-Koulaee, 2021 | Systematic review, 295 studies | The present review study showed that melatonin may be effective in improving sleep quality and insomnia in patients with cancer. It is suggested to carry out further extensive and detailed studies to achieve the most effective... |
| 4 (MA) | Yi, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | Melatonin seems to improve physical symptoms in menopausal women, but the general menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, mood state, estradiol levels, and BMI did not improve under melatonin intervention. However, multiple... |
| 4 (MA) | Ahmed, 2021 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies, n=2 | Despite strong experimental data supporting the role of Melatonin as a neuroprotective agent in NE (both alone and as an adjunct with therapeutic hypothermia), the clinical data supporting the neuroprotective effects in neonates... |
| 4 (MA) | Khaing, 2021 | Meta-analysis, n=1,712 | Melatonin/ramelteon are associated with reduction in delirium incidence in hospitalized patients. However, this effect seems confined to surgical and ICU patients. |
| 4 (MA) | Morvaridzadeh, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 12 studies | Melatonin intake was shown to have a significant impact on improving Oxidative stress parameters. However, future research through large, well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to determine the effect of... |
| 4 (MA) | Mansoori, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies | Based on this meta-analysis, melatonin supplementation can improve liver indices. However, more RCTs are required with larger sample sizes and better control of confounding variables such as weight, body mass index, and gender to... |
| 4 (MA) | Chuffa, 2020 | Meta-analysis | We further characterized the expression profile of our gene subsets with human breast cancer and found eight upregulated genes and 16 downregulated genes that were appositively correlated with melatonin. Our results pose a... |
| 4 (MA) | Hazra, 2020 | Meta-analysis | Moreover, literature survey revealed that angiotensin converting enzyme 2, a membrane receptor of SARS-CoV-2 virus, might have functional cooperativity with MMP9 and a possible interaction with both drugs. The present study... |
| 4 (MA) | Liampas, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies | Melatonin may be of potential benefit in the treatment-prevention of migraine in adults, but complementary evidence from high-quality RCTs is required. |
| 4 (MA) | Hu, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies | No clear evidence suggested that melatonin treatment increased the adverse events in ART cycles. The actual findings may be compromised due to the wide heterogeneity of the included IVF patients, from PCOS to low ovarian reserve. |
| 4 (MA) | Han, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies | However, the present study was limited by the significant heterogeneity of the included studies. More studies are needed to ascertain the preventive effect of melatonin and its analogues on the incidence of delirium after cardiac... |
| 4 (MA) | Wei, 2020 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies, n=387 | Melatonin was an effective and tolerable drug in the short-term treatment of sleep onset insomnia in children and adolescents. More studies, especially in adolescents, are needed to investigate the efficacy and safety of melatonin. |
| 4 (SR +large) | Pereira, 2020 | Systematic review, 25 studies | These results pointed out to the potential suitability of food sources of melatonin as adjuvants in the prevention and treatment of sleep disorders. Further studies are necessary to better ascertain the aspects relevant to their use. |
| 4 (MA) | Zarezadeh, 2020 | Meta-analysis, n=749 | The results of the present meta-analysis support that melatonin supplementation could be effective on ameliorating of inflammatory mediators. |
| 4 (MA) | Ng, 2020 | Meta-analysis, n=1,634 | The results of this meta-analysis of sixteen trials neither support nor oppose the use of melatonin in the prevention of delirium of hospitalised patients. We identified high heterogeneity across all the included trials and low... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Besag, 2019 | Systematic review, 37 studies | Few, generally mild to moderate, AEs were associated with exogenous melatonin. No AEs that were life threatening or of major clinical significance were identified. |
| 4 (MA) | Campbell, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies | Perioperative melatonin reduced the incidence of delirium in older adults in the included studies. While optimal dosing remains an unanswered question, the potential benefit of melatonin and melatonin receptor agonists may make... |
| 4 (MA) | Loloei, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 12 studies, n=641 | The results of our systematic review and Meta-analyzes showed that supplementation of melatonin could be effective in improving lipid parameters and should be considered in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, although the... |
| 4 (MA) | Zhang, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | Meanwhile, participants in the treatment group showed a significantly reduced prevalence of delirium (pooled risk ratio/RR = 0.49; 95% CIs, 0.28~0.88, p = 0.017) and duration of ICU stay (pooled WMD = - 0.32; 95% CI,... |
| 4 (MA) | Hadi, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies | We did not observe any evidence regarding publication bias. The findings of this meta-analysis support the overall favorable effect of melatonin supplementation on BP regulation. |
| 4 (MA) | Parker, 2019 | Meta-analysis | There 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,... |
| 4 (MA) | Akbari, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | The current meta-analysis demonstrated that melatonin supplementation significantly decreased SBP and DBP in patients with metabolic disorders. Additional prospective studies are recommended using higher supplementation doses and... |
| 4 (MA) | Li, 2019 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies, n=205 | Pooled data demonstrate that exogenous melatonin lowers sleep onset latency and increases total sleep time, whereas it has little if any effect on sleep efficiency. Although, the efficacy of melatonin still requires further... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Gomes Domingos, 2019 | Systematic review, 278 studies | However, in order to guide nutritional behavior, it is necessary to consult a composition table that makes melatonin concentrations available and considers the processes involved in the preparation of the food. With this table,... |
| 4 (MA) | Doosti-Irani, 2018 | Meta-analysis, 12 studies | However, melatonin administration did not significantly influence insulin levels (SMD=-1.03; 95% CI, -3.82, 1.77; p=0.47; I2: 0.53), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (SMD=-0.34; 95% CI, -1.25, 0.58;... |
| 4 (MA) | Akbari, 2018 | Meta-analysis, 6 studies | The current meta-analysis showed the promising effect of melatonin administration on reducing CRP and IL-6, but not TNF-α levels among patients with MetS and related disorders. Additional prospective studies are recommended using... |
| 4 (MA) | Abdelgadir, 2018 | Meta-analysis, 13 studies | Melatonin appeared safe and effective in improving sleep in the studied children. The overall quality of the evidence is limited due to heterogeneity and inconsistency. |
| 4 (MA) | Mohammadi-Sartang, 2018 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | Melatonin supplementation has significant effects on triglycerides and total cholesterol levels, which was more evident in higher dose and longer duration and also in a higher concentration of cholesterol levels. Further studies... |
| 4 (MA) | Wang, 2017 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies | Melatonin appears to be effective and safe in improving sleep quality in patients with AD. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
| 4 (MA) | Zhang, 2016 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies | Treatment with melatonin effectively improved the clinical and neurophysiological aspects of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), especially elderly individuals with underlying neurodegenerative disorders. This... |
| 4 (MA) | Tortorolo, 2015 | Meta-analysis, 11 studies | We concluded the use of oral melatonin probably reduces symptoms associated with jet lag syndrome. It is not clear whether its use produces adverse effects; however, these would be probably mild. |
| 4 (SR +large) | Kaminski-Hartenthaler, 2015 | Systematic review, 91 studies | We identified no controlled studies on use of melatonin and agomelatine to prevent SAD and to improve patient-centred outcomes among adults with a history of SAD. No available methodologically sound evidence indicates that... |
| 4 (MA) | Hansen, 2015 | Meta-analysis, 12 studies, n=774 | Melatonin may be equally as effective as standard treatment with midazolam in reducing preoperative anxiety in adults (measured 50 to 100 minutes after administration). The effect of melatonin on postoperative anxiety (measured... |
| 4 (MA) | Xu, 2015 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies | Additionally, there was no report of severe adverse events. Given the current studies, we conclude that melatonin therapy may be effective in improving SE and prolonging TST in patients with dementia; however, there is no... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Costello, 2014 | Systematic review, 35 studies | Based on the literature to date, no recommendations for use in shift workers or to improve hormonal phase shift changes in healthy people can be made at this time. Larger and longer-duration RCTs utilizing well characterized... |
| 4 (MA) | Hansen, 2014 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies, n=486 | No serious adverse events were reported. Although some studies were positive, there was no clear evidence of a therapeutic- or prophylactic effect of melatonin against depression or depressive symptoms. |
| 4 (SR +large) | Andersen, 2014 | Systematic review, 24 studies, n=1,794 | The magnitude of effect was unreliable due to substantial statistical heterogeneity, with I(2) 87% and 94%, respectively. Qualitative reviews suggested the melatonin improved sleep quality and emergence behaviour, and might be... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Vural, 2014 | Systematic review, 16 studies | In older adults, we advise the use of the lowest possible dose of immediate-release formulation melatonin to best mimic the normal physiological circadian rhythm of melatonin and to avoid prolonged, supra-physiological blood levels. |
| 4 (MA) | Seko, 2014 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies, n=680 | More studies investigating the role of melatonin supplementation are still needed before recommending its use in clinical practice. |
| 4 (SR +large) | Scheuer, 2014 | Systematic review, 2013 studies | The protection against UVR-induced skin damage was conducted by melatonin acting directly as an antioxidant, and indirectly by regulating gene expression and inducing a DNA stabilizing effect. As these results were obtained using... |
| 4 (MA) | Marrin, 2013 | Meta-analysis, n=193 | Our meta-regression revealed a logarithmic dose-response relationship between melatonin and its temperature lowering effects. A 5-mg dose of melatonin lowered core temperature by ~0.2 °C. Higher doses do not substantially... |
| 4 (MA) | Ferracioli-Oda, 2013 | Meta-analysis, n=1,683 | This meta-analysis demonstrates that melatonin decreases sleep onset latency, increases total sleep time and improves overall sleep quality. The effects of melatonin on sleep are modest but do not appear to dissipate with... |
| 4 (MA) | Etain, 2012 | Meta-analysis, n=345 | Finally, several deleterious ASMT mutations identified in patients were associated with low ASMT activity (P= 0.01). In this study, we determined how rare and common variations in ASMT might play a role in BD vulnerability and... |
| 4 (MA) | Wang, 2012 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies | Melatonin as an adjuvant therapy for cancer led to substantial improvements in tumor remission, 1-year survival, and alleviation of radiochemotherapy-related side effects. |
| 4 (MA) | Grossman, 2011 | Meta-analysis, 7 studies, n=221 | Add-on controlled-release melatonin to antihypertensive therapy is effective and safe in ameliorating nocturnal hypertension, whereas fast-release melatonin is ineffective. It is necessary that larger trials of longer duration be... |
| 4 (MA) | van Geijlswijk, 2010 | Meta-analysis, 5 studies, n=91 | Melatonin is effective in advancing sleep-wake rhythm and endogenous melatonin rhythm in delayed sleep phase disorder. |
| 4 (MA) | Braam, 2009 | Meta-analysis, 9 studies, n=183 | Nine studies (including a total of 183 individuals with intellectual disabilities) showed that melatonin treatment decreased sleep latency by a mean of 34 minutes (p<0.001), increased total sleep time by a mean of 50 minutes... |
| 4 (MA) | Debruyne, 2006 | Meta-analysis | Melatonin is a product with considerable potential provided it is administered in a controlled manner and the results are assessed accurately. At the moment it seems advisable to use melatonin only in clinical trials. |
| 4 (MA) | Buscemi, 2006 | Meta-analysis, 8 studies, n=97 | There is no evidence that melatonin is effective in treating secondary sleep disorders or sleep disorders accompanying sleep restriction, such as jet lag and shiftwork disorder. There is evidence that melatonin is safe with short term use. |
| 4 (MA) | Buscemi, 2005 | Meta-analysis | There is evidence to suggest that melatonin is not effective in treating most primary sleep disorders with short-term use (4 weeks or less); however, additional large-scale RCTs are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.... |
| 4 (MA) | Mills, 2005 | Meta-analysis, 10 studies, n=643 | The substantial reduction in risk of death, low adverse events reported and low costs related to this intervention suggest great potential for melatonin in treating cancer. Confirming the efficacy and safety of melatonin in... |
| 4 (SR +large) | Olde Rikkert, 2001 | Systematic review, 78 studies, n=95 | There is sufficient evidence that low doses of melatonin improve initial sleep quality in selected elderly insomniacs. However, larger randomized controlled trials, with less strict inclusion criteria are necessary to yield... |
| 3 (SR) | Nabil, 2026 | Systematic review, 10 studies, n=435 | Current evidence does not support a disease-modifying effect of melatonin in MS. Any symptomatic or biomarker benefits need confirmation in larger, well-designed trials, and high-dose melatonin may carry meaningful hepatic risk. |
| Score | Study | Design, n | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Synnott, 2025 | RCT, n=322 | Tasimelteon improved sleep from the first night of treatment, and the effect continued for the duration of the study. Tasimelteon was well-tolerated with no adverse next-day residual effects observed. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Deery, 2025 | RCT, n=624 | In children with preoperative anxiety, midazolam is more effective than melatonin at reducing preoperative anxiety prior to general anaesthesia, although the early termination of the trial increases the likelihood of bias. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Mekontso Dessap, 2025 | RCT, n=355 | This randomized clinical trial found that the low-dose of melatonin (0.3 mg nightly) achieved a better pharmacokinetic profile than the high-dose (3 mg nightly), but did not change the incidence of delirium compared to placebo in... |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Kolobaric, 2023 | RCT, n=620 | There were no significant differences in the frequency of side effects between the study groups. A botanical blend containing a low concentration of THC improved sleep disturbance, anxiety, stress, and well-being in healthy... |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Wibrow, 2022 | RCT, n=419 | Enteral melatonin initiated within 48 h of ICU admission did not reduce the prevalence of delirium compared to placebo. These findings do not support the routine early use of melatonin in the critically ill. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Lubas, 2022 | RCT, n=580 | Melatonin was not associated with improved neurocognitive performance or sleep in our intent-to-treat analyses; however, a subset of survivors demonstrated a clinically significant treatment response. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Gandolfi, 2020 | RCT, n=203 | Melatonin was associated with better sleep quality, which suggests its possible role in the routine care of critically ill patients in the future. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Ford, 2020 | RCT, n=210 | The findings of this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial do not support the prophylactic use of melatonin to prevent delirium after major cardiac surgery. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:112-119, 2019. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Appleton, 2012 | RCT, n=275 | On average, the children treated with melatonin slept 23 minutes longer than those in the placebo group; however, the upper limit of the confidence interval was less than 1 hour, the minimum clinically worthwhile difference... |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Wade, 2011 | RCT, n=746 | The results demonstrate short- and long-term efficacy of PRM in insomnia patients aged 18-80 years, particularly those aged 55 and over. PRM was well-tolerated over the entire 6-month period with no rebound or withdrawal symptoms... |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Riemersma-van der Lek, 2008 | RCT, n=2,004 | Light has a modest benefit in improving some cognitive and noncognitive symptoms of dementia. To counteract the adverse effect of melatonin on mood, it is recommended only in combination with light. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Wade, 2007 | RCT, n=1,248 | PR-melatonin results in significant and clinically meaningful improvements in sleep quality, morning alertness, sleep onset latency and quality of life in primary insomnia patients aged 55 years and over. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Baskett, 2003 | RCT, n=414 | 5 mg of fast release melatonin taken at bedtime does not improve the quality of sleep in older people with age-related sleep maintenance problems. |
| 5 (RCT +blind +n200) | Suhner, 1998 | RCT, n=320 | The lower physiological dose of 0.5 mg was almost as effective as the pharmacological dose of 5.0 mg. Only the hypnotic properties of melatonin, sleep quality and sleep latency, were significantly greater with the 5.0-mg dose. |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Pushpa, 2026 | RCT, n=35 | Oral melatonin improved sleep quality and reduced fatigue in patients with head and neck cancer and was associated with better caregiver sleep perception. |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Pourrezagholi, 2026 | RCT, n=42 | Melatonin supplementation for three months modestly improved glycemic control and lowered serum triglyceride levels in kidney transplant recipients, with no effects on blood pressure or kidney function. These results support... |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Heidari, 2026 | RCT, n=32 | Melatonin supplementation in adult patients with mild to moderate AD effectively improved disease severity, sleep quality, and quality of life, without any reported adverse effects. However, due to limitations of our study,... |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Jalali Firouzkohi, 2026 | RCT, n=72 | Notably, the incidence of adverse effects did not differ significantly among the three groups. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study indicate that both clonidine and melatonin are effective treatments for sleep... |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Al Alawi, 2026 | RCT, n=115 | In this trial, melatonin did not significantly reduce the incidence of delirium. The lower-than-expected numbers of outcome events and resultant early termination for futility limited the study's power. |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Nogueira, 2026 | RCT, n=64 | Melatonin supplementation did not significantly improve sleep quality compared to a placebo in patients with advanced glaucoma, based on both subjective and objective measures. The improvements observed in the sleep... |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Ginzac, 2025 | RCT, n=59 | In an older cancer population, supplementation with 2 mg melatonin was safe but did not lead to any significant improvement in the global quality of life score on the QLQ-C30 for compliant patients. MEQAPAG trial provides novelty... |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Larki, 2025 | RCT, n=41 | It is recommended to conduct more studies with longer duration melatonin use for assessing its effect on quality of life and check 24- hour ambulatory blood pressure for precise assessment of melatonin effect on blood pressure.... |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Gilron, 2025 | RCT, n=31 | There were no statistically significant differences between placebo and melatonin for any secondary outcomes. Overall, the results of this trial do not provide any evidence to suggest promise for melatonin as an effective treatment for NP. |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Esmaeilzadeh, 2025 | RCT, n=80 | While melatonin may improve sleep quality and reduce pelvic pain, further investigation is needed to assess its clinical relevance in this population. |
| 4 (RCT +blind) | Tavares, 2025 | RCT, n=118 | Melatonin had no statistical effect on POCD, but a selective beneficial effect was observed in two cognitive areas. The high prevalence of preoperative cognitive impairment may be related to the lower urinary tract symptoms which... |