ArticleSouth African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care2026
Beyond magnesium sulphate - Rethinking magnesium's impact on maternal and foetal health in low to middle-income countries: A scoping review.
Article in South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), contribute greatly to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), undermining progress towards reducing maternal mortality. While magnesium sulphate is established for seizure prophylaxis, magnesium's physiological and epidemiological significance in HDPs is underexplored. This scoping review mapped current evidence on maternal magnesium homeostasis and HDP association.
methodsElectronic databases were searched for studies reporting maternal magnesium levels, magnesium physiology in pregnancy or, magnesium supplementation in HDP. Eleven studies met the eligibility inclusion criteria. Data was charted for study design, magnesium biomarkers, outcomes and contextual factors.
resultsObservational evidence demonstrated lower magnesium levels among women with HDP against normotensive controls and linked low magnesium with adverse foetal outcomes. Mechanistic studies supported this, highlighting magnesium's role in endothelial function, vascular tone regulation and oxidative stress. Randomised trials evaluating magnesium supplementation showed inconsistent findings and were influenced by variations in formulation, dosage, timing and, underlying nutritional status. Contextual factors, such as HIV, obesity, renal function, and socioeconomic disadvantage, impacted magnesium homeostasis and HDP risk, particularly in LMICs.
conclusionMagnesium insufficiency may contribute to HDP and adverse perinatal outcomes in LMICs, though causal pathways remain unconfirmed. Improved biomarker standardisation, mechanistic studies, and targeted supplementation trials in high-risk or deficient populations are needed.Contribution: This review highlights key inconsistencies in magnesium measurement, identifies contextual modifiers relevant to LMICs, and outlines priority areas for future research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.