Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cardiovascular Diseases in Obesity: What is the Role of Magnesium?

  • Published:
Biological Trace Element Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An excess of adipose tissue, a characteristic of obesity, has been associated with endocrine-metabolic alterations that contribute to dyslipidemias, which are characterized by an increase in the plasma concentrations of triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, and LDL-c along with a reduction in HDL-c. Some nutrients such as the mineral magnesium play important roles in lipid metabolism. Magnesium regulates the activity of HMG-CoA reductase, increasing the activity of lipoprotein lipase and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase. The objective of this review is to present important aspects about the contribution of obesity to the manifestation of cardiovascular risk, to bring the main physiological functions of magnesium, as well as the role of the nutrient in the protection against cardiovascular diseases. Studies have shown that individuals with obesity have low intracellular concentrations of magnesium, which can compromise the nutrient’s physiological functions. Thus, this mineral appears to play an important role in protecting against cardiovascular diseases; however, changes in the nutrient metabolism in obesity may compromise the functions of this element. Further studies are needed to clarify this.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Flowchart 1
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. El-Sayed Moustafa JS, Froguel P (2013) From obesity genetics to the future of personalized obesity therapy. Nat Rev Endocrinol 9(7):402–413

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Oliveira AR, Cruz KJ, Morais JB, Severo JS, de Freitas TE, Veras AL, Rocha Romero AB, Colli C, Nogueira NN, Torres-Leal FL, Marreiro DN (2015) Magnesium status and its relationship with C-reactive protein in obese women. Biol Trace Elem Res 168(2):296–302

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Mika A, Sledzinski T (2017) Alterations of specific lipid groups in serum of obese humans: a review. Obes Rev 18(2):247–272

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Ranganathan S, Krishnan TUS, Radhakrishnan S (2015) Comparison of dyslipidemia among the normal-BMI and high-BMI group of people of rural Tamil Nadu. Med J DY Patil Univ 8(2):149–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Manjunath CN, Rawal JR, Irani PM, Madhu K (2013) Atherogenic dyslipidemia. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 17(6):969–976

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Misra A, Shrivastava U (2013) Obesity and dyslipidemia in South Asians. Nutrients 5(7):2708–2733

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Cruz KJ, Oliveira AR, Pinto DP, Morais JB, Lima FS, Colli C, Torres-Leal FL, Marreiro DN (2014) Influence of magnesium on insulin resistance in obese women. Biol Trace Elem Res 160(3):305–310

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Lefebvre P, Letois F, Sultan A, Nocca D, Mura T, Galtier F (2014) Nutrient deficiencies in patients with obesity considering bariatric surgery: a cross-sectional study. Surg Obes Relat Dis 10(3):540–546

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Suliburska J, Cofta S, Gajewska E, Kalmus G, Sobieska M, Samborski W, Krejpcio Z, Drzymala-Czyz S, Bogdanski P (2013) The evaluation of selected serum mineral concentrations and their association with insulin resistance in obese adolescents. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 17(17):2396–2400

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Oliveira ARS, Cruz KJC, Severo JS, Morais JBS, Freitas TEC, Araújo RS, Marreiro DN (2017) Hypomagnesemia and its relation with chronic low-grade inflammation in obesity. Rev Assoc Med Bras 63(2):156–163

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Severo JS, Morais JBS, Freitas TEC, Cruz KJC, Oliveira ARS, Poltronieri F, Marreiro DN (2015) Aspectos Metabólicos e Nutricionais do Magnésio. Nutr Clín Diet Hosp 35(2):67–74

    Google Scholar 

  12. Simental-Mendía LE, Simental-Mendía M, Sahebkar A, Rodríguez-Morán M, Guerrero-Romero F (2017) Effect of magnesium supplementation on lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 73(5):525–536

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Rosanoff A, Seelig MS (2004) Comparison of mechanism and functional effects of magnesium and statin pharmaceuticals. J Am Coll Nutr 23(5):501–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Rotter I, Kosik-Bogacka D, Dołęgowska B, Safranow K, Karakiewicz B, Laszczyńska M (2015) Relationship between serum magnesium concentration and metabolic and hormonal disorders in middle-aged and older men. Magnes Res 28(3):99–107

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Klop B, Elte JW, Cabezas MC (2013) Dyslipidemia in obesity: mechanisms and potential targets. Nutrients 5(4):1218–1240

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Lima LM, Carvalho MG, Sousa MO (2007) Índice apoB/ap A-I e predição de risco cardiovascular. Arq Bras Cardiol 88(6):187–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Guptha S, Gupta R, Deedwania P, Bhansali A, Maheshwari A, Gupta A, Gupta B, Saboo B, Singh J, Achari V, Sharma KK (2014) Cholesterol lipoproteins and prevalence of dyslipidemias in urban Asian Indians: a cross sectional study. Indian Heart J 66(3):280–288

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Elmaoğullari S, Tepe D, Uçaktürk SA, Kara FK, Demirel F (2015) Prevalence of dyslipidemia and associated factors in obese children and adolescents. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol 7(3):228–234

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Qi Q, Strizich G, Hanna DB, Giacinto RE, Castañeda SF, Sotres-Alvarez D, Pirzada A, Llabre MM, Schneiderman N, Avilés-Santa LM, Kaplan RC (2015) Comparing measures of overall and central obesity in relation to cardiometabolic risk factors among US Hispanic/Latino adults. Obesity (Silver Spring) 23(9):1920–1928

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Attané C, Peyot ML, Lussier R, Poursharifi P, Zhao S, Zhang D, Morin J, Pineda M, Wang S, Dumortier O, Ruderman NB, Mitchell GA, Simons B, Madiraju SRM, Joly E, Prentki M (2016) A beta cell ATGL-lipolysis/adipose tissue axis controls energy homeostasis and body weight via insulin secretion in mice. Diabetologia 59(12):2654–2663

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Jung UJ, Choi MS (2014) Obesity and its metabolic complications: the role of adipokines and the relationship between obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Int J Mol Sci 15(4):6184–6223

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Capurso C, Capurso A (2012) From excess adiposity to insulin resistance: the role of free fatty acids. Vasc Pharmacol 57(2-4):91–97

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Schweiger M, Romauch M, Schreiber R, Grabner GF, Hütter S, Kotzbeck P, Benedikt P, Eichmann TO, Yamada S, Knittelfelder O, Diwoky C, Doler C, Mayer N, de Cecco W, Breinbauer R, Zimmermann R, Zechner R (2017) Pharmacological inhibition of adipose triglyceride lipase corrects high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance and hepatosteatosis in mice. Nat Commun 8:14859

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Wajchenberg BL (2000) Subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue: their relation to the metabolic syndrome. Endocr Rev 21(6):697–738

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Mittendorfer B, Magkos F, Fabbrini E, Mohammed BS, Klein S (2009) Relationship between body fat mass and free fatty acid kinetics in men and women. Obesity (Silver Spring) 17(10):1872–1877

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Roberts R, Hodson L, Dennis AL, Neville MJ, Humphreys SM, Harnden KE (2009) Markers of de novo lipogenesis in adipose tissue: associations with small adipocytes and insulin sensitivity in humans. Diabetologia 52(5):882–890

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Scherer T, Lindtner C, Zielinski E, O’Hare J, Filatova N, Buettner C (2012) Short term voluntary overfeeding disrupts brain insulin control of adipose tissue lipolysis. J Biol Chem 287(39):33061–33069

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Saponaro C, Gaggini M, Carli F, Gastaldelli A (2015) The subtle balance between lipolysis and lipogenesis: a critical point in metabolic homeostasis. Nutrients 7(11):9453–9474

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Ebbert JO, Jensen MD (2013) Fat depots, free fatty acids, and dyslipidemia. Nutrients 5(2):498–508

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Hussain MM (2014) Intestinal lipid absorption and lipoprotein formation. Curr Opin Lipidol 25(3):200–206

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Hussain MM (2014) Regulation of intestinal lipid absorption by clock genes. Annu Rev Nutr 34:357–375

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Ponziani FR, Pecere S, Gasbarrini A, Ojetti V (2015) Physiology and pathophysiology of liver lipid metabolism. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 9(8):1055–1067

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Clemente-Postigo M, Queipo-Ortuño MI, Fernandez-Garcia D, Gomez-Huelgas R, Tinahones FJ, Cardona F (2011) Adipose tissue gene expression of factors related to lipid processing in obesity. PLoS One 6(9):e24783

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Klop B, Wouter Jukema J, Rabelink TJ, Castro Cabezas M (2012) A physician’s guide for the management of hypertriglyceridemia: the etiology of hypertriglyceridemia determines treatment strategy. Panminerva Med 54(2):91–103

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Roberts CK, Barnard RJ, Liang KH, Vaziri ND (2002) Effect of diet on adipose tissue and skeletal muscle VLDL receptor and LPL: implications for obesity and hyperlipidemia. Atherosclerosis 161(1):133–141

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Kobayashi J, Miyashita K, Nakajima K, Mabuchi H (2015) Hepatic lipase: a comprehensive view of its role on plasma lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. J Atheroscler Thromb 22(10):1001–1011

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Miyashita K, Nakajima K, Fukamachi I, Muraba Y, Koga T, Shimomura Y, Machida T, Murakami M, Kobayashi J (2017) A new enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system for human serum hepatic triglyceride lipase. J Lipid Res 58(8):1591–1597

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Subramanian S, Chait A (2012) Hypertriglyceridemia secondary to obesity and diabetes. Biochim Biophys Acta 1821(5):819–825

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Franssen R, Monajemi H, Stroes ESG, Kastelein JPP (2011) Obesity and dyslipidemia. Med Clin N Am 95(5):893–902

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Akoumianakis I, Antoniades C (2017) The interplay between adipose tissue and the cardiovascular system: is fat always bad? Cardiovasc Res 113(9):999–1008

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Chistiakov DA, Grechko AV, Myasoedova VA, Melnichenko AA, Orekhov AN (2017) Impact of the cardiovascular system-associated adipose tissue on atherosclerotic pathology. Atherosclerosis 263:361–368

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Faludi AA, Izar MCO, Saraiva JFK, Chacra APM, Bianco HT, Neto AA et al (2017) Atualização da Diretriz Brasileira de Dislipidemias e Prevenção da Aterosclerose. Arq Bras Cardiol 109(2 Supl 1):1–76

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Libby P (2013) Mechanisms of acute coronary syndromes and their implications for therapy. N Engl J Med 368(21):2004–2013

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Hansson GK (2005) Inflammation, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med 352(16):1685–1695

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Molica F, Morel S, Kwak BR, Rohner-Jeanrenaud F, Steffens S (2015) Adipokines at the crossroad between obesity and cardiovascular disease. Thromb Haemost 113(3):553–566

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Ridker PM (2016) From C-reactive protein to interleukin-6 to interleukin-1: moving upstream to identify novel targets for atheroprotection. Circ Res 118(1):145–156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  47. Münzel T, Sinning C, Post F, Warnholtz A, Schulz E (2008) Pathophysiology, diagnosis and prognostic implications of endothelial dysfunction. Ann Med 40(3):180–196

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Jahangir E, De Schutter A, Lavie CJ (2014) The relationship between obesity and coronary artery disease. Transl Res 164(4):336–344

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Leggio M, Lombardi M, Caldarone E, Severi P, D’Emidio S, Armeni M (2017) The relationship between obesity and hypertension: an updated comprehensive overview on vicious twins. Hypertens Res 40(12):947–963

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Geiger H, Wanner C (2012) Magnesium in disease. Clin Kidney J 5(Suppl 1):i25–i38

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Zaakouka AM, Hassana AM, Tolba OA (2016) Serum magnesium status among obese children and adolescents. Gaz Egypt Paediatr Assoc 64(1):32–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Guerrero-Romero F, Rodriguez-Moran M (2013) Serum magnesium in the metabolically-obese normal-weight and healthy-obese subjects. Eur J Intern Med 24(7):639–643

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Farhangi MA, Ostadrahimi A, Mahboob S (2011) Serum calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and lipid profile in healthy Iranian premenopausal women. Biochem Med (Zagreb) 21(3):312–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Ahmadian M, Suh JM, Hah N, Liddle C, Atkins AR, Downes M (2013) PPARγ signaling and metabolism: the good, the bad and the future. Nat Med 19(5):557–566

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Shen H, MacDonald R, Bruemmer D, Stromberg A, Daugherty A, Li XA (2007) Zinc deficiency alters lipid metabolism in LDL receptor deficient mice treated with rosiglitazone. J Nutr 137(11):2339–2345

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Altura BM, Shah NC, Li Z, Jiang XC, Perez-Albela JL, Altura BT (2010) Magnesium deficiency upregulates serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT 1 and SPT 2) in cardiovascular tissues: relationship to serum ionized Mg and cytochrome c. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 299(3):H932–H938

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Wei CC, Wu K, Gao Y, Zhang LH, Li DD, Luo Z (2017) Magnesium reduces hepatic lipid accumulation in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) and modulates lipogenesis and lipolysis via PPARA, JAK-STAT, and AMPK pathways in hepatocytes. J Nutr 147(6):1070–1078

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Gueux E, Rayssiguier Y, Piot MC, Alcindor L (1984) Reduction of plasma lecithin--cholesterol acyltransferase activity by acute magnesium deficiency in the rat. J Nutr 114(8):1479–1483

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Das UN (2010) Delta6 desaturase as the target of the beneficial actions of magnesium. Med Sci Monit 16(8):11–12

    Google Scholar 

  60. Mahfouz MM, Kummerow FA (1989) Effect of magnesium deficiency on delta 6 desaturase activity and fatty acid composition of rat liver microsomes. Lipids 24(8):727–732

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Rayssiguier Y, Gueux E, Weiser D (1981) Effect of magnesium deficiency on lipid metabolism in rats fed a high carbohydrate diet. J Nutr 111(11):1876–1883

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Luthringer C, Rayssiguier Y, Gueux E, Berthelot A (1988) Effect of moderate magnesium deficiency on serum lipids, blood pressure and cardiovascular reactivity in normotensive rats. Br J Nutr 59(2):243–250

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. DiNicolantonio JJ, O’Keefe JH, Wilson W (2018) Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis. Open Heart 5(1):e000668

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  64. Guerrero-Romero F, Flores-García A, Saldaña-Guerrero S, Simental-Mendía LE, Rodríguez-Morán M (2016) Obesity and hypomagnesemia. Eur J Intern Med 34:29–33

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Gröber U, Schmidt J, Kisters K (2015) Magnesium in prevention and therapy. Nutrients 7(9):8199–8226

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. Vierling W, Liebscher DH, Micke O, von Ehrlich B, Kisters K (2013) Magnesium deficiency and therapy in cardiac arrhythmias: recommendations of the German Society for Magnesium Research. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 138(22):1165–1171

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Kolte D, Vijayaraghavan K, Khera S, Sica DA, Frishman WH (2014) Role of magnesium in cardiovascular diseases. Cardiol Rev 22(4):182–192

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Gimenez MS, Oliveros LB, Gomez NN (2011) Nutritional deficiencies and phospholipid metabolism. Int J Mol Sci 12(4):2408–2433

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  69. Shechter M (2010) Magnesium and cardiovascular system. Magnes Res 23(2):60–72

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Jun S, Cowan AE, Bhadra A, Dodd KW, Dwyer JT, A Eicher-Miller HÁ et al (2020) Older adults with obesity have higher risks of some micronutrient inadequacies and lower overall dietary quality compared to peers with a healthy weight, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), 2011-2014. Public Health Nutr 23(13):2268–2279

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil

    Loanne Rocha dos Santos, Stéfany Rodrigues de Sousa Melo, Juliana Soares Severo, Jennifer Beatriz Silva Morais, Mickael de Paiva Sousa & Thayanne Gabryelle Visgueira de Sousa

  2. Department of Nutrition, Health Sciences Center, Federal University of Piauí, Rua Hugo Napoleão, 665, Ed. Palazzo Reale, Apto 2001, Jockey, Teresina, PI, CEP 64048-320, Brazil

    Lyandra Dias da Silva & Dilina do Nascimento Marreiro

  3. Department of Nursing, Federal University of Minais Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Gilberto Simeone Henriques

Authors
  1. Loanne Rocha dos Santos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stéfany Rodrigues de Sousa Melo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Juliana Soares Severo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jennifer Beatriz Silva Morais
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lyandra Dias da Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mickael de Paiva Sousa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Thayanne Gabryelle Visgueira de Sousa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Gilberto Simeone Henriques
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Dilina do Nascimento Marreiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dilina do Nascimento Marreiro.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

dos Santos, L.R., Melo, S.R.d., Severo, J.S. et al. Cardiovascular Diseases in Obesity: What is the Role of Magnesium?. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 4020–4027 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02528-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02528-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation