Low parental melatonin levels increases autism spectrum disorder risk in children

Abstract

Low melatonin levels are a frequent finding in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. Melatonin is important for normal neurodevelopment and embryonic growth and highly effective in protecting DNA from oxidative damage. Melatonin deficiency, possibly due to low CYP1A2 activity, could be an etiologic factor. As the fetus does not produce melatonin, low maternal melatonin levels should be involved. We measured 6-sulfatoxymelatonin in urine of 60 mothers of a child with ASD that attended our sleep clinic for people with an intellectual disability (ID), and asked for coffee consumption habits, as these are known to be related to CYP1A2 activity. 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin levels were significantly lower in mothers than in controls (p = 0.005), as well as evening coffee consumption (p = 0.034).