Serum melatonin levels in women with infertility: A case–control study in a Nigerian university hospital

Abstract

Background: Infertility is a public health issue in Nigeria, an environment of high daily sunlight exposure. This study objective was to assess the serum melatonin levels among infertile women and parous women in Nigeria. Methods: This was a case–control study involving 45 women of reproductive age with infertility and 45 parous women. Four milliliters of blood sample was collected from each of the participants between 1200 and 1600 h after written informed consent was obtained. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique using melatonin-specific monoclonal antibody was used for processing the samples. Obtained optical density was plotted and read off a standard curve. Data analysis was conducted with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The median serum melatonin values for women with infertility (27.86 pg/ml) and women without infertility (28.12 pg/ml) were similar (P = 0.735). Serum melatonin levels had insignificant negative correlation with age (P = 0.564), body mass index (P = 0.232), and daytime napping (P = 0.604). Melatonin levels had a nonstatistically significant positive correlation with duration of sleep (P = 0.789). Conclusion: This study found no significant difference in the serum melatonin levels in infertile and parous women. Melatonin supplementation in infertile women in our environment for the purpose of improving their fertility may not be recommended.

Keywords

• infertility
• melatonin
• nigeria
• supplementation