The Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Subjective Anxiety and Stress—A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Anxiety related conditions are the most common affective disorders present in the general population with a lifetime prevalence of over 15%. Magnesium (Mg) status is associated with subjective anxiety, leading to the proposition that Mg supplementation may attenuate anxiety symptoms. This systematic review examines the available evidence for the efficacy of Mg supplementation in the alleviation of subjective measures of anxiety and stress. Methods: A systematic search of interventions with Mg alone or in combination (up to 5 additional ingredients) was performed in May 2016. Ovid Medline, PsychInfo, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane databases were searched using equivalent search terms. A grey literature review of relevant sources was also undertaken. Results: 18 studies were included in the review. All reviewed studies recruited samples based upon an existing vulnerability to anxiety: mildly anxious, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), postpartum status, and hypertension. Four/eight studies in anxious samples, four/seven studies in PMS samples, and one/two studies in hypertensive samples reported positive effects of Mg on subjective anxiety outcomes. Mg had no effect on postpartum anxiety. No study administered a validated measure of subjective stress as an outcome. Conclusions: Existing evidence is suggestive of a beneficial effect of Mg on subjective anxiety in anxiety vulnerable samples. However, the quality of the existing evidence is poor. Well-designed randomised controlled trials are required to further confirm the efficacy of Mg supplementation.

Serum Magnesium and Cognitive Function Among Qatari Adults

“…Our findings are consistent with previous studies on the association between serum magnesium concentrations and cognition in both animal and human studies (Allaert et al, 2016;Serefko et al, 2016;Balmus et al, 2017;Boyle et al, 2017;Iolascon et al, 2017;Kirkland et al, 2018). In a case-control study of 30 patients (15 with Alzheimer's disease and 15 with mild cognitive impairment) and 15 control participants, lower magnesium concentrations were found among patients with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (Balmus et al, 2017).…”

Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence

“…Anxiety and depression are mediated by dysfunctional glutaminergic neurotransmission and there is thus a rationale for an effect of magnesium on these outcomes. Supplementation studies with magnesium alone or in combination with other nutrients has been recently reviewed and the conclusion has been, in spite of some methodological weaknesses, that magnesium can be a useful adjunct to manage mild anxiety symptoms [209]. For example, magnesium lactate (300 mg), associated with vitamin B6, was found as effective as a pharmacological anxiolytic in improving anxiety scale scores in mildly anxious subjects [210] and a recent intervention trial found that in 264 healthy stressed subjects with low magnesaemia, supplementation with 300 mg magnesium daily resulted in reduced stress scores in a few weeks.…”

Evaluation of dietary magnesium intake and Its association with depression, anxiety and eating behaviors?

“…In a systematic review including 18 studies, the effect of Mg on different types of anxiety was investigated. Mg intake on postpartum anxiety was not effective, but it has been suggested to be effective in other types (Boyle et al, 2017). The cross-sectional studies examining the relationship between diet Mg intake and anxiety are limited.…”

“…According to the studies, one possible mechanism on the relationship between Mg and mood disorders is thought to be that Mg's inhibiting effect on N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Mg blocks glutamate entry into the cell and reduces depressive symptoms (Boyle, Lawton, & Dye, 2017;Mlyniec et al, 2014). The other possible mechanisms are related with microbiota profile (Winther et al, 2015) and the limbic-hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical axle (Hamada & Tsuruo, 1988).…”