Calcium and magnesium in drinking water and risk of myocardial infarction and stroke-a population-based cohort study

Abstract

Background: The implication of calcium and magnesium in drinking water for cardiovascular disease is unclear.

Objectives: To assess the association of the concentration of calcium and magnesium in drinking water with incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke, accounting for dietary mineral intake.

Methods: We linked drinking water monitoring data to residential information of 26,733 women from the population-based Swedish Mammography Cohort, who completed a 96-item FFQ at baseline. Drinking water was categorized into low (magnesium <10 mg/L and calcium <50 mg/L) or high (magnesium ≥10 mg/L or calcium ≥50 mg/L) mineral concentration. Incident cases of myocardial infarction and stroke types were ascertained 1998-2019 using the National Patient Register.

Results: The mean ± SD concentration of calcium and magnesium in drinking water was 29 ± 7 mg/L and 5 ± 1 mg/L in the low-exposed area and 52 ± 20 mg/L and 10 ± 3 mg/L in the high-exposed area, respectively. During 16 years of follow-up, we ascertained 2023, 2279, and 452 cases of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke, respectively. High drinking water calcium and magnesium was associated with lower risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke HRs of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.95) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.95), whereas the HR for myocardial infarction was 0.93 (95% CI: 0.85, 1.02). In separate analyses, only drinking water magnesium, not calcium, remained associated with ischemic stroke (HR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.54, 0.88).

Conclusions: Drinking water with a high concentration of calcium and magnesium, particularly magnesium, may lower the risk of stroke in postmenopausal women.

Keywords: calcium; cohort; drinking water; magnesium; myocardial infarction; population-based; stroke.