The Acute Effect of Magnesium Supplementation on Endothelial Function: A Randomized Cross-Over Pilot Study

Caitríona Murphy,Jennifer Byrne,Jennifer B Keogh,Peter M Clifton,Michelle L Headland

doi:10.3390/ijerph18105303

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) deficiency might be a catalyst in the process of endothelial dysfunction, an early event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the acute effect of an oral Mg supplement as compared to control on endothelial function assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Nineteen participants (39 years, body mass index (BMI) 22.9 kg/m2) completed this randomized cross-over study. Blood pressure (BP) and FMD were measured and blood samples were taken before participants drank 200 mL water, with or without an over the counter Mg supplement (450 mg and 300 mg for men and women). Measurements were repeated at 60 and 120 min. There was a statistically significant two-way interaction between treatment and time on serum Mg (p = 0.037). A difference of −0.085 mm in FMD was observed 60-min post drink in the control group, as compared to baseline FMD, and no difference was observed in the supplement group as compared to baseline. Despite the non-significant interaction between treatment and time on FMD, once adjusted for baseline, the difference seen in the control group and the lack of change in the supplement group at 60 min post-drink suggests that Mg might attenuate the reduction in FMD post-prandially.

Highlights

Measurements of Blood pressure (BP) and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) were taken, and a blood sample was collected at time-point 0 before consuming a 200-mL drink, with or without an Mg supplement in a randomized manner
FMD, SBP, DBP, and MAP were analyzed for all completers, several serum MG values were missing due to blood samples not being successfully collected
0 absolute the the effect of the interaction between intervention and time on absolute approached equivalent to an increase in age of 1 year being associated with a decreased in time-point further suggesting that there is a potential acute effect of Mg supplementation

Summary

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide with 31% of all global deaths attributed to CVD [1]. Low serum Mg is associated with increased coronary artery disease (CAD) risk [6]. In a large study of 14,446 participants over 27 years, during which 2131 cases of CAD cases were seen, it was observed that low serum Mg was associated with higher CAD [6]. Dietary magnesium might reduce all-cause mortality as seen in a recent meta-analysis with each additional intake of 100 mg/d of dietary magnesium being associated with a 6% risk of all-cause mortality. Several minerals might contribute to this beneficial effect including reducing sodium [9,10,11,12] and increasing potassium intakes [13,14,15], and increased Mg intake [3]

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