Dietary calcium and magnesium intakes and the risk of type 2 diabetes: the Shanghai Women's Health Study.
BACKGROUND
Diet plays a key role in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but little is known about the contributions of specific nutrients in populations in which dietary patterns differ from Western populations.


OBJECTIVE
We examined associations between calcium and magnesium intakes and the risk of T2D in a Chinese population.


METHODS
We used data from a population-based, prospective study of 64,191 women who were free of T2D or other chronic diseases at study recruitment and were living in urban Shanghai, China. Dietary intake, physical activity, and anthropometric measurements were assessed through in-person interviews. A Cox regression model was used to evaluate the association of the exposures under study with the risk of T2D.


RESULTS
An inverse association between calcium and magnesium intakes and T2D risk was observed. The relative risks for the lowest to the highest quintiles of calcium intake were 1.00, 0.82, 0.73, 0.67, and 0.74 (P for trend < 0.001), and for magnesium they were 1.00, 0.84, 0.84, 0.79, and 0.86 (P for trend < 0.001). Milk intake was also inversely associated with the risk of T2D.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that calcium and magnesium intakes may protect against the development of T2D in this population.
Villegas
Raquel
R
Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN 37203-1738, USA. raquel.villegas@vanderbilt.edu
Gao
Yu-Tang
YT
Dai
Qi
Q
Yang
Gong
G
Cai
Hui
H
Li
Honglan
H
Zheng
Wei
W
Shu
Xiao Ou
XO
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008274:Magnesium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D008274:Magnesium