Magnesium supplementation may reduce risks for type 2 diabetes, associated cardiometabolic components
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Adults who consumed more magnesium had lower risk for type 2 diabetes, and adults with type 2 diabetes already had better fasting plasma glucose and insulin resistance profiles than those with lower intakes of the mineral, according to findings published in Diabetes Metabolism Research & Reviews.
“Identifying an effective magnesium-rich diet may be of key importance for those who have a large burden of glycemic problems,” Wen-Xiong Zhang, MD, attending doctor in the department of thoracic surgery at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in China, and colleagues wrote.
In a meta-analysis, Zhang and colleagues evaluated associations between varying quantities of magnesium intake and type 2 diabetes risk for 1,219,636 adults across 26 studies. The researchers also evaluated FPG, HbA1c, 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test results, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, lipids and blood pressure for 1,168 adults who took part in randomized controlled trials comparing magnesium with placebo.
Adults who consumed the most magnesium had decreased type 2 diabetes risk compared with those who consumed the least (RR = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.75-0.81). The researchers noted that “both total and dietary magnesium intake had a significant association with [type 2 diabetes] risk reduction,” and increasing magnesium consumption by 100 mg per day was associated with a 6% reduced type 2 diabetes risk (RR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.93-0.95).
“We found evidence of both linear and nonlinear associations between magnesium intake and [type 2 diabetes] incidence,” the researchers wrote. “Thus, our evidence based on observational cohorts was found to be robust, with the potential to save costs for health administrators and form the basis for transferring our attention to primary/secondary prevention of [type 2 diabetes] with magnesium supplementation.”
For adults with type 2 diabetes already, the standard mean difference in FPG was –0.32 between those who consumed magnesium and those on placebo (95% CI, –0.59 to –.05). The standard mean differences in 2-hour OGTT (SMD = –0.3, 95% CI, –0.58 to –.00), fasting insulin (SMD = –0.17, 95% CI, –0.3 to –.04), HOMA-IR (SMD = –0.41, 95% CI, –0.71 to –.11), triglycerides (SMD = –0.18, 95% CI, –0.32 to –.05), systolic BP (SMD = –0.28, 95% CI, –0.45 to –.11) and diastolic BP (SMD = –0.28, 95% CI, –0.45 to –.11) all indicated decreases while the difference in HDL cholesterol (SMD = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.11 to .45) indicated an increase from magnesium consumption compared with placebo in this population. The researchers further wrote that there were similar rates of adverse effects between magnesium consumption and placebo.
“The current study reinforces a potential dietary strategy for the primary prevention and early management of [type 2 diabetes], which inspires further investigations on other chronic diseases with such dietary interventions,” the researchers wrote. – by Phil Neuffer
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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