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Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of low dose melatonin for sleep disorders in dementia
Marc Serfaty, Sandra Kennell-Webb, James Warner, Robert Blizard, Peter Raven. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 2002-12
Topic: Drug trials: efficacy and safety
Twenty-five out of 44 completed the trial. Sleep was significantly disturbed in the sample population. Melatonin had no effect on median total time asleep (n=25, z=1.35, p=0.18), number of awakenings (n=25, z=0.32, p=0.75) or sleep efficiency (n=25, z=0.17, p=0.24). Nor were there any carry over effects from melatonin. Contrary to previous findings, we found no evidence that two weeks of exogenous melatonin is effective in improving sleep in people with dementia, although possible benefits of melatonin following longer periods of administration cannot be discounted.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Serfaty, M., Kennell-Webb, S., Warner, J., Blizard, R., & Raven, P. (2002). Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of low dose melatonin for sleep disorders in dementia. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.760
Vancouver
Serfaty M, Kennell-Webb S, Warner J, Blizard R, Raven P. Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of low dose melatonin for sleep disorders in dementia. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2002. doi:10.1002/gps.760. PMID: 12461760.
BibTeX
@article{serfaty2002-12461760,
author = {Serfaty, Marc and Kennell-Webb, Sandra and Warner, James and Blizard, Robert and Raven, Peter},
title = {{Double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of low dose melatonin for sleep disorders in dementia}},
journal = {International journal of geriatric psychiatry},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1002/gps.760},
pmid = {12461760},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.760}
}
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Key findings
- Twenty-five out of 44 completed the trial.
- Sleep was significantly disturbed in the sample population.
- Melatonin had no effect on median total time asleep (n=25, z=1.35, p=0.18), number of awakenings (n=25, z=0.32, p=0.75) or sleep efficiency (n=25, z=0.17, p=0.24).
- Nor were there any carry over effects from melatonin.
- Contrary to previous findings, we found no evidence that two weeks of exogenous melatonin is effective in improving sleep in people with dementia, although possible benefits of melatonin following longer periods of administration cannot be discounted.
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Study details
- Participants25
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 75/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 42 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 75 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (International journal of geriatric psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 25 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 2 / 2 | Randomised and blinded or placebo-controlled (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12461760) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 42 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 42 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 75 out of 100. |
| Total | 75 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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