Magnesium, vitamin D status and mortality: results from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001 to 2006 and NHANES III

Study answer

What this study found

Magnesium intake (total, dietary, and supplemental) is independently linked to lower risk of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency; magnesium intake significantly interacts with vitamin D intake for both deficiency and insufficiency. The inverse magnesium–deficiency association is strongest among those >50 years or with extreme PTH levels; the inverse magnesium–insufficiency association is strongest among high-risk groups (winter, low vitamin D intake, women, non‑Hispanic Blacks, obesity, high PTH). In NHANES III, higher serum 25(OH)D is associated with lower risk of total mortality and…

Study & population

Population-based NHANES 2001–2006 (cross-sectional) and NHANES III (prospective cohort); adults; vitamin D status defined by serum 25(OH)D; mortality outcomes in NHANES III via National Death Index; nutrient intakes assessed from 24-h dietary recalls and 30-day supplement questionnaire; 25(OH)D measured by radioimmunoassay; PTH measured by…

Key limitation

Observational design; cannot establish causality; one-time 24-h dietary recall may misclassify long-term intake; small sample size for colorectal cancer mortality; potential residual confounding and measurement errors; lack of data on other vitamin D/PTH axis parameters.

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Original abstract