Wu J, et al. - This study assessed the association of circulating magnesium (Mg) levels with the incidence of coronary heart diseases (CHD), hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This meta-analysis suggested an inverse association of circulating Mg levels with incidence of CHD, hypertension, and T2DM.

Methods

• Researchers searched PubMed, EmBase, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar to identify prospective cohort studies published before May 2017.
• They selected a total of 11 studies that reported multivariable-adjusted associations of interest.
• In addition, information on the characteristics of study and participants, exposure, main outcomes, risk estimates, and cofounders was extracted and analyzed.

Results

• This study included 11 studies: 5 reported results on CHD (38,808 individuals [4437 cases] with an average 10.5-year follow-up), 3 on hypertension (14,876 participants [3149 cases] with a 6.7-year follow-up), and 4 on T2DM (31,284 participants [2680 cases] with an 8.8-year follow-up).
• According to findings, comparing the highest to the lowest category of circulating Mg concentration, the pooled relative risks [RRs] (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were 0.86 (0.74, 0.996), 0.91 (0.80, 1.02), and 0.64 (0.50, 0.81) for incidence of CHD, hypertension, and T2DM, respectively.
• Researchers observed that every 0.1 mmol/L increment in circulating Mg levels was associated with 4% (RR, 0.96; 95% CI: 0.94, 0.99) reduction in hypertension incidence.
• They reported no significant linear association between circulating Mg levels and incidence of CHD (RR, 0.89; 95% CI: 0.77, 1.03) and T2DM (RR, 0.90; 95% CI: 0.81, 1.002).
• Additionally, it was noted that the observed associations of interest were sensitive to exclusion of individual studies.