Twenty-seven studies lasting from 4 to 24 weeks were analyzed. The magnesium dosages ranged from 20 to 548 mg per day.

Most of the participants had a metabolic disorder (e.g., diabetes, prediabetes, metabolic syndrome).

Magnesium supplementation had no effect on total cholesterol (based on 21 studies), triglycerides (23 studies), or LDL-C (20 studies). This was also observed with higher magnesium dosages (≥325 mg/day for triglycerides, ≥300 mg/day for total cholesterol and LDL-C).

Magnesium supplementation slightly increased HDL-C (+1.2 mg/dL; based on 25 studies). This effect was only observed in studies that used higher dosages of magnesium (≥300 mg/day).

Most studies were considered to be low quality (10 studies) or fair quality (16 studies), and only 1 study was considered high quality. The results were similar when analyzing only fair-quality studies.

Magnesium supplementation may not improve blood lipids Original paper