Abstract:
Background: Hypertension is associated with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, premature
mortality, and disability. This rising prevalence of hypertension has been linked to insufficient dietary magnesium
intake. However, epidemiological evidence supporting this relationship is inconsistent. To investigate whether
magnesium intake affects blood pressure, we examined the association between dietary magnesium intake and the
incidence of hypertension in apparently healthy Mexican adults participating in the Health Workers Cohort Study.
Methods: A total of 1,378 subjects (77.4% women and 22.6% men), participating in the Health Workers Cohort Study,
free of hypertension at baseline (systolic blood pressure <140 mmHg or/and diastolic blood pressure <90 mmHg),
were prospectively studied. Magnesium intake was evaluated using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.
The longitudinal relationships between dietary magnesium intake and the incidence of hypertension were analyzed
with generalized estimation equations.
Results: During a median follow-up of 7 years, 16.4% of women and 31.9% of men developed incident hypertension.
After adjustment for age and sex, we fou...