Prolonged magnesium deficiency leads to osteoporosis in rats, finds new research, which could present a warning to many populations not getting adequate levels of the mineral through their diets.

The scientists from Tel-Aviv University and the University of Luebeck in Germany compared rats fed a magnesium-deficient diet daily with rats fed a diet with adequate levels of the mineral over a period of one year.

The mean bone density of the vertebral bone and the femoral region bone was significantly higher in the control group than in the magnesium deficient group B. The researchers also found indicators of osteoporosis, according to the report in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (vol 23, no 6, 704S-711S).

While the findings cannot yet be extrapolated to prevention of the disease in humans, they suggest that further research should be done in the wake of a steady rise in osteoporosis. It currently affects 30 million people (predominantly women) worldwide and the number of related hip fractures is estimated to increase 135 per cent in the EU from 414,000 to 972,000 by the year 2050.

Magnesium deficiency may contribute to osteoporosis rise

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