A Summary of a Magnesium Meta-Analysis by Mah and Pitre (2021)

Reviewed by John Cutts, PhD | Research & Development

Overview

Insomnia is a common condition in adults over 55. In older adults, it is correlated with cognitive impairment, increased falls, and impacts quality of life. The systematic review and meta-analysis summarized here assessed the effectiveness and safety of oral magnesium supplementation for older adults with insomnia.

Summary

Oral Magnesium Supplementation for Insomnia in Older Adults: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Participants: 151 older adults (≥55 years) with insomnia across three countries, drawn from three randomized controlled trials

Dose: 320 mg to 729 mg elemental magnesium daily, administered two to three times per day for 20 days to 8 weeks

Outcome Measures: Sleep onset latency (SOL), total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), early morning awakening (EMA), slow wave sleep (SWS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

What Was Studied: A systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness and safety of oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults, comparing magnesium to placebo or no treatment. The researchers searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine, clinicaltrials.gov, and two grey literature databases for randomized controlled trials enrolling adults with a majority of participants aged 55 or older, diagnosed with insomnia by validated questionnaire, clinician evaluation, or sleep diary. Risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2.0 tool, quality of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach, and treatment effects were quantified using mean differences; where meta-analysis was not appropriate, a modified effects direction plot was used for vote counting based on direction of effect.

About the Reviewer

Name & Title: John Cutts, Director of Research at Solaray
Credentials: PhD Pharmacology & Toxicology

Bio: John Cutts, Ph.D. earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his Bachelors of Science in Chemistry from BYU-Idaho. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the dietary supplement space, with a focus on scientific substantiation, regulatory affairs, and product development. His graduate research centered on the health-related properties of botanical compounds. He currently works in research and development, where he evaluates clinical evidence for dietary supplement ingredients.

References

Mah J, Pitre T. Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2021;21(1):125. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33865376/

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Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a study “double-blind”?

In double-blind studies, participants and researchers are
both unaware of which participants are in the group taking the active
investigational product and which are part of a control group.

What makes a study “placebo-controlled”?

When studies are placebo-controlled one group takes an active
investigational product and the other group takes an inactive product that has
the same general appearances as the active treatment.

What is a placebo?

Placebos are inactive treatments. Researchers include placebos that have the same general characteristics as an active treatment.

They try to make them indistinguishable from the active treatment regarding
qualities like appearance, taste, and smell.

Why is statistical significance important?

Quality scientific studies look for more than just a numerical difference between treated groups and control groups. These studies also check mathematically for the possibility that any difference between groups might
happen by chance. A difference that is statistically significant is one where the change is not likely to be due to a chance fluctuation within a normal variance.

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