Is Dementia Linked to Abnormal Magnesium?

Forty-seven million people worldwide are affected by dementia, and the numbers are increasing everyday. A study conducted by the Erasmus University Medical Center found that the level of magnesium can affect the disease in adverse ways. 

Magnesium is responsible for the biochemical functions within the body. However, it has been reported that many Americans are actually magnesium deficient, accounting for a large percent of the nation's population.

Magnesium aids in:

• Building proteins
• Nerve functioning
• Regulating blood sugar
• Monitoring the metabolism
• Releasing neurotransmitters
• Regulating blood pressure
• Producing antioxidants

There are plenty of foods on the market that are rich with magnesium. Some foods that have magnesium are: Spinach, chard, avocados, figs, bananas, dark chocolate, black beans, salmon, goat cheese, and much more. Deficient levels of magnesium have been linked to migraines, fatigue, anxiety, depression, constipation, and an imbalance in hormone levels.

High and low levels of the magnesium present in the normal serum are one of the major risks for all dementia cases. This also includes the most common form of dementia known as Alzheimer’s disease.

A study was conducted with patients from the Rotterdam Study cohort. The patients were a combination of people with low levels of serum magnesium, which was less than 0.79 mmol/L, or people with high levels of serum magnesium, which was greater than 0.9 mmol/L. These patients had a 30 percent risk of having dementia of any form, with an HR of 1.32 and 1.3 correspondingly.These results were in comparison to patients with serum magnesium levels that were at a normal or average level.

This study was carried out by Brenda Kieboom, MD, MSc, of the Erasmus University Medical Center located in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and her colleagues, which was the first of its kind. It was the first study that looked into the association of dementia with the serum magnesium levels of the body. 

Read on to learn more about how low magnesium levels can have an adverse effect on dementia.