Magnesium Intake and Depression in U.S. Adults

Abstract

Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder among adults in the United States. The link between nutrition and functional mental health has not been heavily explored when compared to other risk factors. Magnesium has an important role in certain neurotransmitter pathways and has been associated with mental health disorders including depression. The objectives of this study were to determine if there was an association between magnesium intake and depression in U.S. adults and if this association existed when stratified by sex and ethnicity. A cross-sectional study using secondary data from the 2017 - 2020 pre-pandemic National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) was performed. A bivariate and partial correlation was conducted with body mass index (BMI) as a covariate. Three depression questions from the PHQ-9 were used as the dependent variable for depression. Results showed a significant correlation between magnesium intake and depression for all three depression questions in the total sample, rho (5811) = -0.054, p < .05, rho (5811) = -0.047, p < .05, and rho (5811) = -0.034, p < .05, respectively. Further, there was a significant correlation between magnesium intake in males and depression question 1, rho (2820) = -0.062, p < .05, and magnesium intake in females for depression question 3, rho (2987) = -0.053, p < .05. Significance was also found for magnesium intake in Non-Hispanic Whites and depression questions 1 and 2, rho (1859) = -0.072, p < .05 and rho (1859) = -0.057, p < .05, respectively. Significance was also found for Other Race, rho (318) = -0.126, p < .05. These findings suggest that magnesium intake may be an important predictor of depression.