Melatonin poisonings have increased by 530% in ten years in children

During the Covid-19 pandemic, some of us had trouble falling asleep and turned to melatonin supplements to help. As a result, confined children have found themselves exposed to these products and the number of involuntary ingestions of melatonin has exploded in ten years, with sometimes very serious consequences.

For years, dietary supplements based on melatonin, which help with falling asleep, have had a privileged place in medicine cabinets, but even more so with the pandemic of Covid-19. The ubiquity of melatonin in the form of tablets, capsulesof drops or gummies in homes has mathematically increased children’s exposure to these products. the Center of Disease Control (CDC) indicates that melatonin poisoning increased by more than 500% among children in the space of ten years.

Children hospitalized with too much melatonin

In 2012, the first year of monitoring, 8,337 cases of pediatric ingestion (children under 19) of melatonin were recorded, compared to 52,563 cases in 2021; an increase of 530%. In ten years, a total of 260,435 children ingested melatonin and were treated in American poison control centers, which represents more than 2% of all pediatric ingestions treated over the same period.

These ingestions concerned almost all children under 5 years of age, they were involuntary and took place within the home. In most cases, they do not have any dangerous consequences for health. Nevertheless, among the approximately 260,000 ingestions of melatonin by children, around 27,000 developed gastrointestinal, cardiovascular or neurological symptoms that required hospitalization, including 1% in intensive care. Over the 10 years of follow-up, two children — babies 3 and 13 months old — died from excess melatonin.

Food supplements with variable composition

Food supplements are not subject to the same controls as health products. The CDC points out, citing a 2017 Canadian study, that the information displayed on the label does not always correspond to the actual composition of the product: 71% of the products analyzed and sold in Canada have a composition different from that advertised. In addition, there is great heterogeneity between batches from the same manufacturer.

This is especially the case for food supplements in the form of gelled gum, which are more attractive to children and also easier to ingest. The Canadian study also highlighted the presence of serotonin, a by-product of melatonin, in significant quantities which can have clinical consequences in children. To avoid any problem, food supplements must be stored out of reach of children in the same way as household products or medicines.