Research paper
Effect of Magnesium Supplementation on Inflammatory Parameters: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Study answer
What this study found
Magnesium supplementation produced a modest but statistically significant reduction in serum C-reactive protein and increased nitric oxide compared with placebo. For CRP, the pooled analysis included 737 participants across 15 RCTs and showed SMD = −0.356 (95% CI: −0.659 to −0.054; p = 0.02). For nitric oxide, the effect was SMD = 0.321 (95% CI: 0.037 to 0.604; p = 0.026) based on 3 studies with 194 participants, with I2 = 0%. Effects on IL-6, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione, and TNF-α were not significant, and malondialdehyde was only borderline significant (SMD = −0.604; 95% CI:…
- Study & population
- This was a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in adults.
- Intervention
- Oral magnesium, primarily magnesium oxide 250 mg/day, was compared with placebo.
- Key limitation
- Heterogeneity was substantial across outcomes, and several biomarkers were supported by few studies, limiting certainty.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Magnesium (Mg) may have several beneficial effects on human health outcomes. One hypothesized mechanism eliciting such effects is the action of Mg on serum inflammatory parameters. However, studies on this topic to date have several important limitat…