Melatonin for the management of sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders have a higher prevalence of sleep disturbances. Currently there is variation in the use of melatonin; hence, an up-to-date systematic review is indicated to summarise the current available evidence. To determine the efficacy and safety of melatonin as therapy for sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. PubMed, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception up to January 2018. Two reviewers performed data assessment and extraction. We assessed randomised controlled trials that compared melatonin with placebo or other intervention for the management of sleep disorders in children (