Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28445426›Full record

SynthesisNutrients2017

The Effects of Magnesium Supplementation on Subjective Anxiety and Stress-A Systematic Review.

Neil Bernard Boyle, Clare Lawton, Louise Dye

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nutrients, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
66citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

66 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 146 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Effects of aJournal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025
    Trial
  10. The effects of magnesium L-threonate (MagteinFrontiers in nutrition · 2025
    Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Magnesium and blood pressure regulation: systemic and renal mechanisms.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Protective effect of magnesium on indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in mice.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Review

6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Neil Bernard BoyleSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. n.b.boyle@leeds.ac.uk.
Clare LawtonSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. c.l.lawton@leeds.ac.uk.
Louise DyeSchool of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. l.dye@leeds.ac.uk.
University of Leeds · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAnxiety related conditions are the most common affective disorders present in the general population with a lifetime prevalence of over 15%. Magnesium (Mg) status is associated with subjective anxiety, leading to the proposition that Mg supplementation may attenuate anxiety symptoms. This systematic review examines the available evidence for the efficacy of Mg supplementation in the alleviation of subjective measures of anxiety and stress.

methodsA systematic search of interventions with Mg alone or in combination (up to 5 additional ingredients) was performed in May 2016. Ovid Medline, PsychInfo, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane databases were searched using equivalent search terms. A grey literature review of relevant sources was also undertaken.

results18 studies were included in the review. All reviewed studies recruited samples based upon an existing vulnerability to anxiety: mildly anxious, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), postpartum status, and hypertension. Four/eight studies in anxious samples, four/seven studies in PMS samples, and one/two studies in hypertensive samples reported positive effects of Mg on subjective anxiety outcomes. Mg had no effect on postpartum anxiety. No study administered a validated measure of subjective stress as an outcome.

conclusionsExisting evidence is suggestive of a beneficial effect of Mg on subjective anxiety in anxiety vulnerable samples. However, the quality of the existing evidence is poor. Well-designed randomised controlled trials are required to further confirm the efficacy of Mg supplementation.

Indexed as

AnxietyDietary SupplementsHumansMagnesiumStress, PhysiologicalMagnesiumanxietyinterventionmagnesiumstress

Identifiers

PMID28445426
PMCPMC5452159
OpenAlexW2610150444

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.