Oral magnesium supplementation improves glycemic control in older Chinese adults with pre-diabetes and hypomagnesemia: a randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Purpose Pre-diabetes significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Magnesium deficiency is common and may contribute to dysglycemia. However, evidence for the efficacy of magnesium supplementation in pre-diabetes, especially in older adults with hypomagnesemia, remains limited and inconclusive. This exploratory trial aimed to evaluate the effects of oral magnesium supplementation on glycemic parameters and conducted exploratory metabolomic profiling in this population. Methods In this 4-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 71 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 68.7 ± 6.0 years) with pre-diabetes (fasting plasma glucose ≥5.6 mmol/L and/or HbA1c 5.7%−6.5%) and hypomagnesemia (plasma magnesium ≤ 0.80 mmol/L) were enrolled. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either magnesium oxide (360 mg elemental Mg/day) or an identical placebo once daily. The primary outcome was the change in fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Secondary outcomes included changes in insulin, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, glycated albumin, and inflammatory markers (hs-CRP, IL-6). Exploratory non-targeted metabolomic profiling was performed. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA adjusted for baseline values, following the intention-to-treat principle. Results Sixty-five participants completed the trial. At baseline, the magnesium group had significantly higher insulin and HOMA-IR levels (both p < 0.05); analyses were adjusted accordingly. Compared to placebo,…
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Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design.
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