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

Study answer

What this study found

In diabetes, magnesium supplementation significantly reduced fasting plasma glucose (11 studies; SMD −0.43; p=0.02); HbA1c and fasting insulin or HOMA-IR did not show significant improvements. In people at high risk of diabetes, magnesium significantly improved fasting plasma glucose (11 studies; SMD −0.34; p<0.0001), 2‑hour OGTT glucose (3 studies; SMD −0.35), and HOMA-IR (9 studies; SMD −0.23; p=0.028); HbA1c and serum insulin largely unchanged. Magnesium was generally well tolerated with gastrointestinal side effects (diarrhea) and no severe adverse events reported. Conclusion: Magnesium…

Study & population

Adults with diabetes (mostly type 2; some with type 1) or at high risk of diabetes; randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials; parallel designs (majority) with some crossover designs; follow-up 4–48 weeks.

Intervention

Oral magnesium supplementation; predominantly magnesium oxide; dosage not reported; duration 4–48 weeks (diabetes trials median ~12 weeks; high-risk trials median ~14 weeks); taken orally.

Key limitation

Small-sample, short-duration RCTs with varied magnesium dosages and formulations leading to high heterogeneity; evidence mainly from type 2 diabetes; limited data on other diabetes types; inconsistent effects across outcomes (HbA1c and insulin); some crossover designs; follow-up durations varied.

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Original abstract