Magnesium supplementation and arterial stiffness

This projects mainly focused on the effects of magnesium supplementation on cardiovascular health.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. Strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk may include the increase in physical activity, abstinence from smoking and alcohol and the promotion of a healthy diet. A meta-analyses of 16 prospective cohort studies found an inverse association between dietary intake and cardiovascular disease.

Arterial stiffness is a non-invasive vascular function marker and is strongly related to cardiovascular disease risk. It is one of the earliest detectable changes in vascular structure and function. Recently, a beneficial effect of magnesium citrate supplementation on arterial stiffness (-1.0 m/s) was showed after 24 weeks. However, the study was based on a single comparison between magnesium citrate and placebo, and thus, it remains unknown whether the effect was induced by magnesium itself or by the anion citrate. Furthermore, no head-to-head comparison between various magnesium formulations in terms of effects of arterial stiffness has been performed. In this respect, a comparison between organic and inorganic formulations might be of interest.

This study showed that administering magnesium in an organic form (magnesium citrate) for 24-wk did not change arterial stiffness nor blood pressure. Furthermore, the inorganic formulations magnesium oxide and magnesium sulfate had similar non-significant effects on arterial stiffness and blood pressure. In subgroup analyses, however, it was showed that magnesium supplementation (combined magnesium group) improved arterial stiffness in subjects with increased prevalent arterial stiffness at baseline. However, the subgroup analysis should be interpreted with caution, as this was not pre-specified in our protocol.  

In a post-hoc study, they investigated the effects of oral magnesium supplementation on glucocorticoid metabolism as a potential underlying mechanism by which increased dietary magnesium intake may beneficially affect cardiovascular health. In this study, a beneficial effect of magnesium citrate supplementation towards a lower 24-h urinary cortisol excretion was showed, suggesting that magnesium supplementation may improve glucocorticoid metabolism in overweight and slightly obese adults, which might be a potential mechanism by which magnesium improves cardiovascular health.