Magnesium deficiency syndrome leads to poor health

MGDs is assessed based on four factors indicating a potential magnesium deficiency:

• Decreased kidney function
• Taking diuretics
• Taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)
• Alcohol consumption

Based on these factors, participants were assigned a score from 0 to 5, after which they were divided into three groups: low (0-1), medium (2) and high (3-5) MGDs.

The study included 12,592 adults with hyperlipidemia from the NHANES database (USA), with follow-up for more than 9 years. During this time, 2,160 deaths were recorded, 593 of them from cardiovascular diseases.

People with high MGDs levels had significantly worse health outcomes compared to those with low MGDs levels. They were older, more likely to suffer from diabetes, obesity, hypertension, had low albumin levels and low income. This group also had the highest mortality from all causes and CVD.

• The risk of death from all causes in the group with high MGDs was 50% higher than in the group with a low index.
• The risk of death from cardiovascular causes was more than 2 times higher.
• Each 1—point increase in MGDs was associated with an 18% increase in the risk of overall mortality and a 36% increase in cardiovascular mortality.

Survival analysis using Kaplan-Meyer curves showed that people with high MGDs had the worst survival rates. Even after accounting for concomitant factors (for example, dietary magnesium intake, diabetes, smoking, etc.), the association between MGDs and mortality persisted.

Magnesium is involved in hundreds of biochemical processes in the body, including the regulation of blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels. However, magnesium deficiency often goes unnoticed, as it does not cause pronounced symptoms and is not diagnosed by routine tests. At the same time, statistics show that many adults in the United States and other countries consume magnesium significantly less than normal.

Moreover, clinical studies show that magnesium supplements can reduce levels of “bad” cholesterol and oxidized LDL, which are key factors in the development of atherosclerosis.

The results of the study emphasize that MGDs can serve as a simple and inexpensive marker for early risk assessment in people with hyperlipidemia. Although the authors note that MGDs itself is not a treatment tool, but only an indicator, it can help identify priority groups for monitoring, prevention, and possibly correction of magnesium deficiency.

The question of whether eliminating magnesium deficiency will reduce mortality in such patients remains open. Nevertheless, if future clinical studies confirm the effectiveness of magnesium deficiency correction, MGDs may enter practice as part of an integrated approach to hyperlipidemia management and prevention of cardiovascular disasters.