Study Suggests Link Between Hormone Melatonin and Type 2 Diabetes

Decreased levels of the hormone melatonin may be linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, according to new research. A study of U.S. women found that those with the lowest levels of melatonin had more than twice the risk of type 2 diabetes compared to women with the highest levels of the hormone. This association held true even after the researchers controlled for other risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as body weight and dietary habits. But whether too little melatonin actually causes type 2 diabetes isn't clear. "We found an association between melatonin and type 2 diabetes; what we haven't got from this study is causality," said study lead author Dr. Ciaran McMullan, a research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "That's the next step of research." The findings shouldn't change clinical management. "There's no evidence that taking melatonin will improve someone's chances of avoiding diabetes," McMullan said. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_135506.html