Preliminary AHA Analysis Links Year-Long Melatonin Use to Higher Heart-Failure Risk

Overview

• An AHA meeting abstract reported that adults with at least 12 months of recorded melatonin use had greater five-year rates of heart-failure hospitalization, including about 19% versus 6.6% in matched nonusers, along with higher heart-failure diagnosis and all-cause mortality.
• The findings remain unpublished and unreviewed, with only a short summary available that omits key details such as dose, adherence, and insomnia severity.
• Researchers used the TriNetX Global Research Network of electronic health records, a design that can miss over-the-counter use common in the U.S. and create exposure misclassification across health systems and countries.
• Sleep and neurology specialists caution that the association could reflect confounding by underlying insomnia or early cardiac disease rather than a direct effect of the hormone.
• Sleep experts note that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine does not recommend melatonin for insomnia and that cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is the preferred treatment, as use of the hormone has expanded in the U.S. and remains prescription-only in the U.K.