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The purpose of this study was to investigate magnesium nutritional status and its association with asthma in elementary school children (1277 boys and 1109 girls) participating in the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT children 2001-2002). Dietary magnesium intake was based on 24-hour dietary recalls. Serum magnesium was measured. Average magnesium intake was 247 mg and 228 mg for the boys and girls, respectively, which is equivalent to 135-123% of the relevant Taiwanese Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs). Mean serum magnesium concentration was 0.87 mmol/L and 0.86 mmol/L, respectively. The prevalence of serum magnesium <0.8 mmol/L was 10.5-13.5% in both gender in our sample of elementary school children. In Taiwan, asthma was diagnosed in about 5.8% and 4.7% of boys and girls, respectively. In this study, there were no associations between asthma prevalence, dietary magnesium and serum magnesium concentration. In about 40% of our sample of school children, however, dietary magnesium may be suboptimal. This deficit should be targeted though improved intake of magnesium-rich foods such as whole grains, green vegetables and soybean products, particularly in Taiwanese school children whose dietary intakes are below the DRIs and/or who have low serum magnesium levels.
Key Words: magnesium intake, serum magnesium, elementary school children, asthma, nutrition and health survey in Taiwan
INTRODUCTION
Magnesium is of considerable importance in organic synthesis. It has been established that magnesium ions are required by a diverse range of enzymes involved in energy metabolism, protein synthesis, ions transport, signal transduction and cell proliferation.1-3 In humans, the amount of magnesium absorbed is almost in linear proportion to magnesium intake, with increased fractional absorption observed only at low dietary intakes.4
Various nutrients, high fiber and high phosphate diets may reduce magnesium absorption.5,6 The level of blood magnesium is remarkably constant in healthy individuals, maintained by a poorly understood homeostatic mechanism. 7 Although magnesium is found in a variety of foods and beverages, a number of surveys have shown that dietary intake of the elementary school children is inadequate in many countries.8-12 This finding is also supported by the prevalence of low serum magnesium levels shown in other reports.13-15
Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide, with up to 150 million people currently suffering the disease. Further, this number has...