Clinical Nutrition ESPEN · Nov 4, 2026

Magnesium intake and prevalence of depressive symptoms: The baseline data from the Aidai Cohort Study

By Miyake Y, Tanaka K, Ihara Y et al.

Background Among the modifiable risk factors for depressive symptoms, diet is attracting attention. Epidemiological evidence regarding the association between magnesium intake and depressive symptoms has been limited. The present cross-sectional study examined this issue using baseline data from the Aidai Cohort Study. Methods Study subjects were 10,316 Japanese men and women aged 20–95 years. Dietary intake during the previous year was assessed using a 169-item, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Scores of 16 or higher on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale denoted depressive symptoms. Adjustment was made for age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, leisure-time physical activity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, history of depression, body mass index, employment, education, and household income. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms among the 10,316 study subjects was 14.9%. Higher magnesium intake was independently associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms: the fully multivariate-adjusted ORs for comparison of the second, third, and fourth with the first quartile were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.69−0.93), 0.71 (95% CI: 0.60−0.83), and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.52−0.74), respectively (P for trend < 0.0001). In sensitivity analyses confined to those under 65 years of age, those aged 65 years and older, men, and women, the fully multivariate-adjusted ORs between extreme quartiles (95% CI, P for trend) were 0.65 (0.53−0.80, < 0.0001), 0.55 (0.40−0.76, < 0.0001), 0.74 (0.56−0.98, 0.02), and 0.60 (0.48−0.75, < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion Magnesium intake may be inversely associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms.

doi.org/10.1016/j.clnesp.2026.105234PubMed 42982236Populations