Influence of melatonin administration on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity of postmenopausal women.

Objective: The effect of melatonin on human carbohydrate metabolism is not yet clear. We investigated whether melatonin influences glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in aged women.

Patients: Twenty-two postmenopausal women of whom 14 were on hormone replacement therapy.

Design: After an overnight fast, at 0800 hours on two nonconsecutive days, placebo or melatonin (1 mg) were administered randomly and in a double blind fashion. Forty-five minutes later, an oral glucose tolerance test (75 g; OGTT) was performed in 13 women. In another nine women insulin-dependent (Si) and -independent (Sg) glucose utilization was tested by a frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGT).

Results: Areas under the response curve to OGTT (AUC) for glucose (1420 +/- 59 vs. 1250 +/- 55 mmol x min/l; P < 0.01), and C-peptide (42,0980 +/- 45,320 vs. 33,528 +/- 15,779 pmol x min/l; P < 0.02) were higher following melatonin than placebo, while Si values were lower (2.6 +/- 0.28 units vs. 3.49 +/- 0.4 units; P < 0.03). Si modifications induced by melatonin were inversely related to Si values of the placebo day (r(2) = 0.538; P < 0.025).

Conclusions: The present results indicate that in aged women administration of 1 mg of melatonin reduces glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. The present data may have both physiological and clinical implications.