Association between dietary magnesium intake and risk of cataract surgery: data from NHANES 2003-2008.

BACKGROUND

In vitro and in vivo studies suggested that magnesium might have preventive effects on cataracts; however, the epidemiological evidence is limited. The objective of this study was to examine the association between magnesium intake and the odds of experiencing cataract surgery.

METHODS

A total of 8185 individuals aged ≥30 years were extracted from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES) in the cycles from 2003 to 2008. Magnesium intake was assessed using the 24-hour dietary recall method. The questionnaire determined whether participants had cataract surgery or not. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to explore the associations between magnesium intake and the risk of cataract surgery.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of cataracts was 13.4% (1094/8185). After controlling for potential confounders, we observed a significant inverse association between magnesium intake and cataracts, both as a continuous variable [odds ratio (OR): 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65-0.96, p = 0.013] and quartiles with the highest quartile compared to the lowest (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.61-0.98, p trend = 0.027).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that higher magnesium intake appears to be helpful for cataract prevention; however, additional prospective studies are required to ascertain whether magnesium intake can lead to a decrease in cataracts.