Long-term effect of magnesium consumption on the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease among men.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Magnesium deficiency can cause dyslipidemia and insulin hypersecretion, which may facilitate gallstone formation. However, the effect of long-term consumption of magnesium on the risk of gallstone disease is unknown.

METHODS:

We prospectively studied magnesium consumption and risk of gallstone disease in a cohort of 42,705 U.S. men from 1986 to 2002. Magnesium consumption was assessed using a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Newly diagnosed gallstone disease was ascertained biennially.

RESULTS:

We documented 2,195 incident cases of symptomatic gallstones during 560,810 person-years of follow-up. The age-adjusted relative risks (RRs) for men with total magnesium intake and dietary magnesium, when the highest and lowest quintiles were compared, were 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59-0.77, P for trend <0.0001) and 0.67 (CI 0.59-0.76, P for trend <0.0001), respectively. After adjusting for multiple potential confounding variables, when extreme quintiles were compared, the multivariate RR of total magnesium intake (RR 0.72, CI 0.61-0.86, P for trend = 0.006) and dietary magnesium (RR 0.68, CI 0.57-0.82, P for trend = 0.0006) remained significant with a dose-response relationship.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings suggest a protective role of magnesium consumption in the prevention of symptomatic gallstone disease among men.

• Authors: Chung-Jyi Tsai, Michael F Leitzmann, Walter C Willett, Edward L Giovannucci
• Journal: The American journal of gastroenterology (Am J Gastroenterol) Vol. 103 Issue 2 Pg. 375-82 (Feb 2008) ISSN: 0002-9270 [Print] United States
• PMID: 18076730 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)

Chemical References

• Magnesium

Topics

• Gallstones (epidemiology, prevention & control)
• Humans
• Magnesium (administration & dosage, pharmacology)
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prospective Studies
• Risk Factors
• Time Factors