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Dietary Intake of Magnesium May Modulate Depression

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Abstract

Depressive symptoms are frequent in students and may lead to countless problems. Several hypotheses associate magnesium with depression because of the presence of this mineral in several enzymes, hormones, and neurotransmitters, which may play a key role in the pathological pathways of depression. The aim of this study was to assess whether magnesium intake could modulate depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 402 Iranian postgraduate students studying in Malaysia to assess the relationship between magnesium intake and depressive symptoms. The mean age of the participants was 32.54 ± 6.22 years. The results of the study demonstrated an inverse relationship between magnesium intake and depressive symptoms, which persisted even after adjustments for sex, age, body mass index, monthly expenses, close friends, living on campus, smoking (current and former), education, physical activity, and marital status.

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Acknowledgments

We express our sincere appreciation to all the participants of this study. We also thank Dr. Javad Aazami, Dr. Siavash Yari and Dr. Yadollah Abolfathi Momtaz for encouraging and supporting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, 7134-69391, Banganjab, Ilam, Iran

    Teymoor Yary & Kourosh Soleimannejad

  2. Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Sanaz Aazami

Authors
  1. Teymoor Yary
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  2. Sanaz Aazami
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  3. Kourosh Soleimannejad
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Correspondence to Teymoor Yary.

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Yary, T., Aazami, S. & Soleimannejad, K. Dietary Intake of Magnesium May Modulate Depression. Biol Trace Elem Res 151, 324–329 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9568-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9568-5

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