School of Medicine Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-20-2026

Abstract

Simple Summary: Magnesium is an essential nutrient found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and is also commonly taken in dietary supplements. We studied whether total magnesium intake from food and supplements was related to memory in 2397 U.S. adults aged 60 years and older who participated in a national health and nutrition survey. Magnesium intake showed a small positive relationship with memory before considering total energy intake, particularly among women, but the relationship was not statistically significant. People who consumed more magnesium also tended to consume more calories overall. After taking energy intake into account, there was no clear relationship between magnesium intake and memory in either men or women. In contrast, education and age remained consistently related to memory performance. These findings do not rule out a role for magnesium in brain health, but they suggest that its relationship with memory is difficult to separate from overall diet and social factors. Because participants were studied at one point in time, we cannot determine whether magnesium intake affects memory. Long-term and intervention studies are needed to better understand the role of magnesium in healthy brain aging.

Abstract: Background: Magnesium intake (MgI) has been associated with cognitive health in older adults, but the influence of sex, socioeconomic factors, and overall dietary intake remains unclear. Methods: We analyzed adults aged ≥ 60 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2014. Of 3079 participants eligible before missing data exclusions, 2397 (1153 men and 1244 women) then had complete information for the final structural equation model (SEM). Total magnesium intake included dietary and supplemental sources assessed using two 24-h dietary recalls. Memory performance was derived using principal-component factor analysis of CERAD word-recall and animal-fluency assessments. Survey-weighted, sex-specific SEMs evaluated associations among magnesium intake, memory performance, age, education, household income, and total energy intake. Results: Participants had a mean age of 70 ± 6.8 years, 52% were female, and mean BMI was 29 ± 6.4 kg/m2. Without energy adjustment, total magnesium intake showed a positive but nonsignificant association with memory in men (β = 0.043, p = 0.387) and women (β = 0.080, p = 0.105). After energy adjustment, the associations were attenuated in men (β = 0.030, p = 0.486) and women (β = 0.040, p = 0.532). Energy intake was strongly associated with magnesium intake but not with memory. Education was positively associated with memory, whereas age was negatively associated in both sexes. Conclusion: Total magnesium intake was not independently associated with memory performance after accounting for energy intake and sociodemographic factors. Education and age remained the most consistent predictors of memory. These findings highlight the importance of considering overall dietary intake when examining nutrient–cognition relationships.

Publication Title

Biology

DOI

10.3390/biology15211906

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Medical Education

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.