Biomarkers · Electrolytes & Minerals

Serum Magnesium

Higher values go with lower risk of death. Not measured in our NHANES panel. The curve is drawn from the published study (source below).

Serum Magnesium and risk of death

Published curve higher than the NHANES fitNHANES fit higher

Risk of death relative to the curve's reference value, drawn from the published study (source below).

Published risk of death1.34×serum Mg <0.7 mmol/L vs 0.8-0.89 mmol/L (referent) (95% CI 1.02–1.77) · NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS), US adults aged 25-74 at baseline 1971-1975, followed to 2011

What studies found when this marker was changed

They describe what happened in those study groups, not a recommendation. See all catalogued interventions.

Measured changes in Serum Magnesium, study by study

3 effects with a numeric size, each from one study arm: the dot is the reported change, the line its 95% interval where one was given. Green points move the marker the way lower risk of death lies; amber the other way. Study results in the groups studied, not predictions for a person.

Each row is one study: what was changed, the effect it reported on this marker, and the source.
Type	Intervention	Reported effect	Evidence	Source
pharmacologic	SGLT2 inhibitors (6 agents) vs placebo in adults with type 2 diabetes, serum magnesium change	Serum magnesium rose 0.07 mmol/L (95% CI 0.06 to 0.08) with SGLT2 inhibitors vs placebo; 25 RCTs, n=28,269; duration not stated	meta-analysis	Zhang J, et al. Kidney360. 2022;3(3):477-487.
pharmacologic	Empagliflozin 10 mg daily vs placebo in heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction	Serum magnesium rose 0.05 mmol/L with empagliflozin vs placebo by week 4, then stable; n=5,988	RCT	Ferreira JP, et al. JACC Heart Fail. 2026;14(2):102889.
pharmacologic	Empagliflozin 10 mg daily vs placebo in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction	Serum magnesium rose 0.05 mmol/L with empagliflozin vs placebo, early in treatment (duration not stated); n=3,730	RCT	Ferreira JP, et al. JACC Heart Fail. 2026;14(2):102751.

Sources

Risk curve: Zhang 2018 (PMID 28890274): all-cause HR 1.34 (1.02-1.77) serum Mg <0.7 mmol/L vs 0.8-0.89 mmol/L (referent); higher categories not significant (>=1.0 mmol/L HR 0.98, 0.76-1.26). Scaled to published population values.
Zhang et al. Serum magnesium concentrations and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality among U.S. adults: Results from the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). 2018;37:1541-1549.

Map Serum Magnesium against another biomarker.

Map Serum Magnesium against another marker