Oral Magnesium Supplementation for Treating Glucose Metabolism Parameters in People with or at Risk of Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trials

There is a large and growing body of literature focusing on the use of oral magnesium (Mg) supplementation for improving glucose metabolism in people with or at risk of diabetes. We therefore aimed to investigate the effect of oral Mg supplementation on glucose and insulin-sensitivity parameters in participants with diabetes or at high risk of diabetes, compared with a placebo. Several databases were searched investigating the effect of oral Mg supplementation vs placebo in patients with diabetes or conditions at high risk of diabetes. Data were reported as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using follow-up data of glucose and insulin-sensitivity parameters. Compared with placebo, Mg supplementation reduced fasting plasma glucose in people with diabetes. In people at high risk of diabetes, Mg supplementation significantly improved plasma glucose per se, and after a 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. Furthermore, Mg supplementation demonstrated an improvement in insulin sensitivity markers. In conclusion, Mg supplementation appears to have a beneficial role and improves glucose parameters in people with diabetes. Moreover, our work indicates that Mg supplementation may improve insulin-sensitivity parameters in those at high risk of diabetes.

Clinical trial on the effects of oral magnesium supplementation in stable-phase COPD patients

Background and aims COPD is a common chronic condition in older age that impacts on daily activities and quality of life. Previous studies suggest that magnesium deficit in COPD patients affects bronco-obstruction, inflammation, and physical performance. We investigated whether oral magnesium supplementation in stable-phase COPD patients improves lung function, physical performance, and quality of life. Methods We conducted a double-blind randomized-controlled clinical study with 49 participants divided into two groups: one given 300 mg/day of magnesium citrate (n = 25) and the other one sachet/day of a placebo (n = 24). The following parameters were assessed at baseline and after 3 and 6 months: lung function (spirometry), physical performance (handgrip strength, lower limb strength, six-minute walk test), inflammation (e.g., C-reactive protein, CRP), disease-related symptoms, and quality of life (St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire, EuroQoL-5D, the Modified British Medical Research Council Questionnaire). Results Linear mixed models revealed significantly lower CRP values in the intervention group than in the placebo group at the 6 month follow-up (β = − 3.2, 95% CI − 6.0, − 0.4, p = 0.03). Moreover, the maximum work for flexion tended to increase in both groups between the 3 and the 6 month assessments, especially in the placebo group. No significant differences within and between groups over the study period were observed for the other parameters tested. Conclusions Although the established minimum sample size was not reached, our results suggests that oral magnesium supplementation may have a potential anti-inflammatory role. On the other hand, it does not seem to substantially influence lung function, physical performance, and quality of life in COPD patients. Trial registration The study is registered in clinicaltrial.gov (Trial Registration: NCT02680769, 13 June 2016, retrospectively registered).

Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis

Background Magnesium supplementation is often purported to improve sleep; however, as both an over-the-counter sleep aid and a complementary and alternative medicine, there is limited evidence to support this assertion. The aim was to assess the effectiveness and safety of magnesium supplementation for older adults with insomnia. Methods A search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine, clinicaltrials.gov and two grey literature databases comparing magnesium supplementation to placebo or no treatment. Outcomes were sleep quality, quantity, and adverse events. Risk of bias and quality of evidence assessments were carried out using the RoB 2.0 and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approaches. Data was pooled and treatment effects were quantified using mean differences. For remaining outcomes, a modified effects direction plot was used for data synthesis. Results Three randomized control trials (RCT) were identified comparing oral magnesium to placebo in 151 older adults in three countries. Pooled analysis showed that post-intervention sleep onset latency time was 17.36 min less after magnesium supplementation compared to placebo (95% CI − 27.27 to − 7.44, p = 0.0006). Total sleep time improved by 16.06 min in the magnesium supplementation group but was statistically insignificant. All trials were at moderate-to-high risk of bias and outcomes were supported by low to very low quality of evidence. Conclusion This review confirms that the quality of literature is substandard for physicians to make well-informed recommendations on usage of oral magnesium for older adults with insomnia. However, given that oral magnesium is very cheap and widely available, RCT evidence may support oral magnesium supplements (less than 1 g quantities given up to three times a day) for insomnia symptoms.