Dietary magnesium intake and rheumatoid arthritis patients’ all-cause mortality: evidence from the NHANES database

Abstract

Abstract Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease with all-cause mortality increasing globally. Dietary magnesium (Mg), an anti-inflammatory nutrient, has been proven to be associated with the all-cause mortality. The association of dietary Mg intake and all-cause mortality in RA patients remains unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the association between dietary Mg intake and all-cause mortality in RA patients. Methods RA patients were extracted from the NHANES 1999–2018, and followed for survival through December 31, 2019. Dietary Mg intake data were obtained from 24-h dietary recall interview. The association between dietary Mg intake and RA patients’ all-cause mortality was explored based on weighted univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models and described as absolute risk difference (ARD), hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). This association was further explored in subgroup analyses based on different age, gender and body mass index (BMI). Results Totally 2,952 patients were included. Until 31 December 2019, a total of 825 deaths were documented. RA patients with higher dietary Mg intake had a 11.12% reduction of all-cause mortality (ARD=-11.12%; HR = 0.74, 95%CI: 0.56–0.99) in the fully adjusted model, especially in female (HR = 0.68, 95%CI: 0.47–0.98), aged < 65 years (HR = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.37–0.94) and BMI ≤ 30 kg/m2 (HR = 0.62, 95%CI: 0.42–0.91). Conclusion RA patients who consumed adequate dietary Mg from diet as well as supplements may had a lower risk of all-cause mortality.

Keywords

• Magnesium
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• All-cause mortality
• NHANES database