Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Yonseiro 50, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea.
Department of Family Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, College of Medicine, Yonseiro 50, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea.
Maturitas. 2014 Jun;78(2):117-22. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.03.010. Epub 2014 Apr 8.
The secretion of melatonin, a pleiotropic hormone mainly synthesized by the pineal gland, typically decreases with age and may be associated with the development of aging-related pathologic conditions such as cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis is an aging-related disease, the pathogenesis of which involves chronic inflammation and increased oxidative stress. Since melatonin has both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it may be associated with atherosclerosis. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between urine concentrations of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) and arterial stiffness in post-menopausal women.
A total of 66 post-menopausal women participated in the study. Melatonin secretion was estimated by measuring aMT6s levels in first morning urine samples. The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was used as an indicator of arterial stiffness.
Estimated mean CAVI decreased gradually with increasing aMT6s quartiles. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the fourth aMT6s quartile was associated with a high CAVI with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.03 (95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.47).
Our study revealed an inverse relationship between urine aMT6s and arterial stiffness as determined by CAVI. Although it is impossible to determine causality, our results suggest that melatonin may have a beneficial role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Further prospective studies are required to establish the clinical significance of our study.
褪黑素是一种多效激素，主要由松果体合成，其分泌通常随着年龄的增长而减少，可能与心血管疾病等与衰老相关的病理状况的发展有关。动脉粥样硬化是一种与衰老相关的疾病，其发病机制涉及慢性炎症和氧化应激增加。由于褪黑素具有抗氧化和抗炎特性，因此它可能与动脉粥样硬化有关。因此，我们研究了绝经后妇女尿液中 6-硫酸褪黑素（aMT6s）浓度与动脉僵硬之间的关系。
共有 66 名绝经后妇女参加了这项研究。通过测量晨尿中 aMT6s 水平来估计褪黑素的分泌。使用心血管踝血管指数（CAVI）作为动脉僵硬的指标。
估计的平均 CAVI 随着 aMT6s 四分位数的增加逐渐降低。多变量逻辑回归分析显示，第四 aMT6s 四分位数与高 CAVI 相关，调整后的优势比为 0.03（95%置信区间，0.01-0.47）。
我们的研究表明，尿液 aMT6s 与 CAVI 测定的动脉僵硬之间存在反比关系。虽然不能确定因果关系，但我们的结果表明褪黑素可能在动脉粥样硬化的发病机制中发挥有益作用。需要进一步的前瞻性研究来确定我们研究的临床意义。
