The Association of Serum and Dietary Magnesium with Depressive Symptoms

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 15; no. 3; p. 774
• Main Authors: Chou, Ming-Hui, Yang, Yen Kuang, Wang, Jung-Der, Lin, Chung-Ying, Lin, Sheng-Hsiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Asymptomatic; blood serum; burden of disease; Complications and side effects; Depression - epidemiology; Depression, Mental; Development and progression; Diabetes; Disease; etiology; Female; Health aspects; Health Surveys; Humans; Hypertension; Magnesium; Magnesium Deficiency; Magnesium deficiency diseases; Magnesium in the body; Male; Malnutrition - complications; Mental depression; Nervous system; nutrition; Nutritional Status; Physiological aspects; Questionnaires; risk; Risk factors; Sociodemographics; Stress; Taiwan; Taiwan; 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5); serum magnesium; depression; chronic latent magnesium deficiency (CLMD); Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT); depressive symptoms; dietary magnesium intake
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu15030774

Depression is a leading cause of the global burden of disease and has a multifactorial etiology that includes nutrients. Magnesium status has been associated with depression with inconclusive results. The impact of chronic latent magnesium deficiency (CLMD, 0.75 ≤ serum magnesium < 0.85 mmol/L) on depression has not yet been investigated. We assessed the association between serum magnesium levels/dietary magnesium intake and depressive symptoms by analyzing nationally representative data from Taiwan (Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, NAHSIT). We used the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale to measure depressive symptoms. Subgroup analysis by sex was also performed. Serum magnesium levels had a low correlation with dietary magnesium intake. Higher serum magnesium levels were associated with lower depressive scores and a lower risk of depressive symptoms, but dietary magnesium intake showed no association. Sex differences were found. Compared with subjects with serum magnesium <0.75 mmol/L, those with ≥0.85 mmol/L had lower depressive scores. In conclusion, serum magnesium was inversely associated with depressive symptoms, but dietary magnesium intake was not. Subjects with CLMD showed similar depressive scores and were at a similar risk of depressive symptoms to those with serum magnesium < 0.75 mmol/L. CLMD should be considered while assessing the association between magnesium status and depressive symptoms.