title: Is melatonin useful for jet lag?
abstract: Jet lag syndrome is an exogenous circadian rhythm sleep disorder, frequently reported in travelers who cross multiple time zones in a short period of time. Oral melatonin -a pineal neurohormone normally produced during darkness and responsible for regulating the body's circadian rhythms- has been used as treatment for this condition. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening 30 databases, we identified four systematic reviews including 11 randomized trials. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table following the GRADE approach. 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.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Red de Salud UC-Christus, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile. Email: radagabriel@epistemonikos.org.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tortorolo
authors.affiliation: Red de Salud UC-Christus, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Florencia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farren
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Proyecto Epistemonikos, Santiago, Chile; Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; GRADE working group; The Cochrane Collaboration.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rada
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020179:Jet Lag Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008550:Melatonin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014195:Travel; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D008550:Melatonin