Effect of Magnesium Supplementation on Circulating Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

(1) Background: Magnesium supplementation may be effective for the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases, but the mechanisms are unclear. Proteomic approaches can assist in identifying the underlying mechanisms. (2) Methods: We collected repeated blood samples from 52 individuals enrolled in a double-blind trial which randomized participants 1:1 to oral magnesium supplementation (400 mg magnesium/day in the form of magnesium oxide) or a matching placebo for 10 weeks. Plasma levels of 91 proteins were measured at baseline with follow-up samples using the Olink Cardiovascular Disease III proximity extension assay panel and were modeled as arbitrary units in a log₂ scale. We evaluated the effect of oral magnesium supplementation for changes in protein levels and the baseline association between serum magnesium and protein levels. The Holm procedure was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. (3) Results: Participants were 73% women, 94% white, and had a mean age of 62. Changes in proteins did not significantly differ between the two intervention groups after correction for multiple comparisons. The most statistically significant effects were on myoglobin [difference -0.319 log₂ units, 95% confidence interval (CI) (-0.550, -0.088), p = 0.008], tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase type 5 (-0.187, (-0.328, -0.045), p = 0.011), tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 13B (-0.181, (-0.332, -0.031), p = 0.019), ST2 protein (-0.198, (-0.363, -0.032), p = 0.020), and interleukin-1 receptor type 1 (-0.144, (-0.273, -0.015), p = 0.029). Similarly, none of the associations of baseline serum magnesium with protein levels were significant after correction for multiple comparisons. (4) Conclusions: Although we did not identify statistically significant effects of oral magnesium supplementation in this relatively small study, this study demonstrates the value of proteomic approaches for the investigation of mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of magnesium supplementation. Clinical Trials Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02837328.

Keywords: magnesium; proteomics; randomized trial.

Figure 1

Participant flow diagram.

Figure 2

Pairwise correlations between baseline levels of individual proteins.

Figure 3

Mean difference in 12-week change of individual protein levels in Normalized Protein eXpression (NPX) units comparing oral magnesium supplementation to placebo. Error bars correspond to 95% confidence. Green bars indicate differences with p <0.05, yellow bars with p-value ≥0.05 and <0.10.

Figure 4

Baseline association of serum magnesium with individual protein levels in Normalized Protein eXpression (NPX) units. Coefficients correspond to the difference in protein levels per 0.04 mmol/L difference in serum magnesium. Error bars correspond to 95% confidence intervals. Green bars indicate differences with p <0.05, yellow bars with p-value ≥0.05 and <0.10.