Magnesium and the Cardiometabolic Syndrome

The cardiometabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic factors that increase an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The metabolic risk factors that cluster in the syndrome include insulin resistance, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, central obesity, and dyslipidemia. Other abnormalities, such as chronic proinflammatory and prothrombotic states and oxidative stress, have been added to the syndrome. Magnesium (Mg) plays a key role in regulating insulin action, glucose uptake, and vascular tone. Many experimental, clinical, and epidemiologic studies have shown a clear link between Mg status and any component included in the constellation. Increasing evidence suggests a role for Mg deficiency as a possible unifying mechanism underlying the coincidence among those apparently disparate clinical conditions clustering in the syndrome. Although the use of Mg supplements has been suggested as a potential tool in the prevention of the cardiometabolic syndrome, this needs to be demonstrated by future prospective studies.