MR-PheWAS for the causal effects of serum magnesium on multiple disease outcomes in Caucasian descent.

Magnesium is integral to many physiological processes, whereas variations in its levels, even within the normal range, can have critical implications for health. To explore the broad clinical effects of varying serum magnesium levels, we performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization and phenome-wide association study (MR-PheWAS) in the UK Biobank cohort. In total, MR-PheWAS analysis implicated a causal role of serum magnesium levels in five disease groups and six disease outcomes. In addition, our study indicated the gender-specific effects of nine disease groups/outcomes in MR estimated effects. The protein-protein interaction network demonstrated an interaction between the serum magnesium-associated gene and the cataract- associated gene . The present study verified several previously reported disease outcomes and identified novel potential disease outcomes for serum magnesium levels. The gene and the gene may be the new targets for promoting the treatments of cataracts using magnesium intervention.