Evaluation of the effects of magnesium supplement in primary and secondary preventions of nephrolithiasis: a systematic review

The role of magnesium supplement to prevent primary and/or secondary kidney stones has not been fully determined. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of magnesium supplement in modifying urinary risk factors of recurrent kidney stones. We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases on December 7, 2014 and reference lists of systematic reviews and randomized, controlled trials. Among the initial 282 articles found by our search strategy and hand searching, we found eight English-language studies were eligible for our study. Magnesium supplementation could be beneficial in nephrolithiasis prevention through increasing urinary magnesium, citrate, and calcium while declining urinary oxalate. In pediatric patients, the results were more prominent and could decline urinary oxalate up to 90% of the baseline. Magnesium supplementation could be beneficial, especially with potassium-citrate combination. However, due to the low number of well-designed randomized controlled trials, especially in pediatrics, the conclusions of this study need further confirmation.