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) wi th incident hypertension. The setting was the Atherosclerosis Risk in Commu nities (ARIC) Study, which included a biracial cohort, aged 45-64 years, fr om 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 q uestionnaire. 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, 0.8 7, and 0.82 in men (p trend = 0.16). We found no association between dietar y Mg intake and incident hypertension. These associations were attenuated a fter die 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. Ann Epidemiol 1999;9:159-165. (C) 1999 Elsevie r Science Inc. All rights reserved.