Magnesium Nutritional Status, Risk Factors, and the Associations with Glucose Parameters of Childbearing Women in the China Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance (2015)

Magnesium is an essential element and participates in many metabolic pathways. Inadequate magnesium levels may lead to various health problems such as type 2 diabetes (T2DM), hypertension, and cancer. But the role of Mg in childbearing women of China is still a relatively narrow researched field. We aimed to assess the Mg nutritional status, explore the risk factors of Mg deficiency, and the associations between Mg and glucose parameters among childbearing women in a nationally representative sample. A total of 1895 18-44 years childbearing women were recruited from the China Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance (2015). Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the risk factors for Mg deficiency and estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the risk of hyperglycemia. The mean value of Mg was 0.87 mmol/L and the prevalence of deficiency was 4.69%. The risk factors of Mg deficiency (Mg < 0.75 mmol/L) was city-type of rural (p = 0.045), while calcium (p = 0.001), LDL-C (p = 0.024), age group of 26-35 years (p = 0.016), 36-44 years (p = 0.006), and CNNM2 rs3740393 genotypes of GC (p = 0.027) were protective factors. It was also found that magnesium deficiency induces an increase in plasma glucose (p = 0.001). Compared with the reference range, Mg < 0.75 mmol/L would have a 6.53 fold risk for T2DM, a 5.31 fold risk for glucose-hyperglycemia, and a 9.60 fold risk for HbA1c-hyperglycemia. Consistently, there was a negative association between plasma Mg and blood glucose parameters in the dose-response study. More attention should be paid to the nutritional status of magnesium and the impact of magnesium deficiency on human health.