A Summary of a Magnesium Scientific Review by Boyle et al. (2017)

Reviewed by John Cutts, PhD | Research & Development

Overview

The following is a summary of a scientific review examining magnesium supplementation in the context of subjective anxiety and stress outcomes across adult populations with existing vulnerability to anxiety, including mildly anxious individuals, those with premenstrual syndrome (PMS), postpartum women, and individuals with mild hypertension.

Summary

The Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Subjective Anxiety and Stress—A Systematic Review

Published in: Nutrients

Study Design: Systematic review

What Was Reviewed: A systematically evaluation of the available human intervention evidence for the efficacy of magnesium supplementation in alleviating subjective anxiety and stress. All included studies enrolled participants based on pre-existing vulnerability to anxiety across four subgroups: mildly anxious adults, women reporting PMS symptoms, postpartum women, and individuals with mild hypertension. The review examined studies in which magnesium was administered alone or combined with up to five additional ingredients, and assessed subjective anxiety or stress as a primary or secondary outcome. The investigators also explored potential moderating variables including dosage, magnesium form, duration of intake, and baseline magnesium status.

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

Boyle NB, Lawton C, Dye L. The Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Subjective Anxiety and Stress—A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017;9(5):429. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28445426/

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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.

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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
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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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