Melatonin poisoning in kids up 530% over past decade, CDC says. What are the dangers?
The number of melatonin poisoning cases in children has risen dramatically over the past decade, with the largest yearly increase happening from 2019 to 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of pediatric melatonin ingestions increased by 530% from 8,337 in 2012 to 52,563 in 2021, a new CDC report says.
Melatonin, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, is a dietary supplement and over-the-counter sleep aid for adults and children meant to regulate the sleep-wake cycle, according to the CDC. It’s available in tablet, capsule, liquid and gummy forms.
For the study, CDC relied on reports made over the past decade to the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System.
In most cases of melatonin overdosing, children were asymptomatic, according to the study. Those who had symptoms reported issues involving the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular or central nervous systems.
The report found pediatric hospitalizations and more serious outcomes increased due to the increase of unintentional melatonin ingestions by children 5 and under, the study says.
About 2% of children who ingested melatonin had more serious outcomes — five required mechanical ventilation and two died, the study says. Both deaths were in children under age 2.
The number of melatonin ingestions in children had the largest yearly increase, about 38%, from 2019 to 2020, according to the report. This increase may have been related to the fact that children spent more time at home due to stay-at-home orders and school closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In 2020, melatonin became the most frequently ingested substance among children reported to national poison control centers,” the report says.
America’s use of melatonin is also on the rise, with the sales of over-the-counter melatonin increasing from $285 million in 2016 to $821 million in 2020, the report says.
While the American Academy of Pediatrics does not discourage the use of melatonin for small children, it advises parents to speak with their pediatrician first.
Additionally, the CDC’s study notes that health care providers should advise parents about the “safe storage and appropriate use of melatonin.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 2:22 PM.
