Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 401 Park Drive, Landmark Center Room 420, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine Section, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.
Respir Res. 2023 Mar 24;24(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s12931-023-02390-w.
Little is known about the link between solar activity and variations in melatonin. In this study, we investigated if melatonin's major urinary metabolite, urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), is lowest under periods of intense solar activity.
We investigated associations between high-energy solar particle events [Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) mass, speed and energy] on creatinine-adjusted aMT6s (aMT6sr) concentrations in 140 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using up to four seasonal urine samples (n = 440). Mixed effect models with a random intercept for each subject were used to estimate associations, including effect modification attributable to diabetes, obesity, and reduced pulmonary function.
Higher values of CME were associated with reduced aMT6sr concentrations, with stronger associations in patients with diabetes. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in natural log CME averaged through two days before urine collection was associated with a reduction of 9.3% aMT6sr (95%CI: - 17.1%, - 0.8%) in aMT6sr. There was a greater reduction in aMT6sr in patients with diabetes (- 24.5%; 95%CI: - 35.9%, - 11.6%). In patients without diabetes there was no meaningful association (- 2.2%; 95%CI: - 12%, 8.4%). There were similar associations with CME and CME. There was no effect modification attributable to reduced pulmonary function or obesity.
This is the first study in patients with COPD to demonstrate strong detrimental impact of high-energy solar particle events on aMT6sr, with greater associations in patients with diabetes. Since melatonin is an anti-oxidant, it is possible that adverse effects of intense solar activity may be attributable to a reduction in circulating melatonin and that patients with both COPD and diabetes may be more susceptible.
关于太阳活动与褪黑素变化之间的联系知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们研究了褪黑素的主要尿代谢物，尿 6-硫酸褪黑素（aMT6s），是否在太阳活动剧烈时最低。
我们调查了在 140 名慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者中，高能太阳粒子事件（日冕物质抛射（CME）质量、速度和能量）与肌酐调整后的 aMT6s（aMT6sr）浓度之间的关联，使用了多达四个季节的尿液样本（n=440）。使用具有每个受试者随机截距的混合效应模型来估计关联，包括归因于糖尿病、肥胖和肺功能降低的效应修饰。
CME 值越高，aMT6sr 浓度越低，糖尿病患者的相关性越强。在尿液采集前两天平均的自然对数 CME 的四分位距（IQR）增加与 aMT6sr 降低 9.3%（95%CI：-17.1%，-0.8%）相关。糖尿病患者 aMT6sr 的降低幅度更大（-24.5%；95%CI：-35.9%，-11.6%）。在没有糖尿病的患者中，没有明显的关联（-2.2%；95%CI：-12%，8.4%）。CME 和 CME 也有类似的关联。归因于肺功能降低或肥胖的效应修饰不存在。
这是在 COPD 患者中进行的第一项研究，表明高能太阳粒子事件对 aMT6sr 有强烈的不利影响，糖尿病患者的相关性更强。由于褪黑素是一种抗氧化剂，太阳活动剧烈的不利影响可能归因于循环褪黑素的减少，而同时患有 COPD 和糖尿病的患者可能更容易受到影响。
