Serotonin and melatonin secretion in postmenopausal women with eating disorders

Postmenopausal women manifest emotional disorders associated with an increase in appetite. The aim of the study was to assess the serotonin and melatonin secretion and metabolism in postmenopausal women in relation to eating disorders.

Sixty postmenopausal women and 30 women without hormonal disturbances were enrolled into the study and divided into three groups: group I (control) - women without menstrual disorders, group II - postmenopausal women without appetite disorders and change in body weight, and group III - postmenopausal women with increased appetite and weight gain. Serum melatonin, serotonin, urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) excretion were measured.

Serum serotonin and melatonin levels in groups II and III were lower compared to group I. Urinary 5-HIAA and aMT6s excretion was lower in overweight women. In group III the correlation between the serum level of serotonin, melatonin, and BMI was negative; a high statistical significance was found between BMI and urinary aMT6s excretion.

Melatonin supplementation and use of drugs modulating the serotonin homeostasis together with female hormones have a beneficial effect in complex treatment of disorders of eating in postmenopausal women. (Endokrynol Pol 2016; 67 (3): 299-304).