Relationship of Serum and Dietary Magnesium to Incident Hypertension: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship of serum and dietary magnesium (Mg) with incident hypertension. The setting was the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, which included a biracial cohort, aged 45–64 years, from four U.S. communities. METHODS: This analysis included 7731 participants (4190 women and 3541 men) free of hypertension at baseline and followed six years. Fasting serum Mg was measured, and usual dietary intake was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, race, and a number of other risk factors, the odds of incident hypertension across ascending quartiles of serum Mg were 1.0, 0.79, 0.85, and 0.70 in women (p trend = 0.01) and 1.0, 0.87, 0.87, and 0.82 in men (p trend = 0.16). We found no association between dietary Mg intake and incident hypertension. These associations were attenuated after the addition of baseline systolic blood pressure to the models. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that low Mg may play a modest role in the development of hypertension.