Fasting Serum Magnesium Level and its Association with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and its Chronic Complications

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common metabolic disorders. Hypomagnesemia is a common feature in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aims to assess the serum magnesium level and its association with chronic complications in patients with T2DM.

Methods: A total of 173 T2DM patients at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital were evaluated from July 2016 to August 2017. Patients were investigated for fasting serum magnesium level, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), Glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and also target organ evaluation for diabetes. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.

Results: Hypomagnesemia was found in 86 patients out of the 173 enrolled patients. Observations revealed significant association between hypomagnesemia and various microvascular complications viz. retinopathy (p=0.001), neuropathy (p<0.001) and nephropathy (p<0.001). There was also a significant association between hypomagnesemia and FPG (p=0.008) and HbA1c (p=0.009). The overall prevalence of hypomagnesemia among T2DM patients was 49.7% and the prevalence of hypomagnesemia was significantly higher (74%) among diabetic patients with microvascular complications (p=0.001) compared to diabetics with no microvascular complications.

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of hypomagnesemia among T2DM patients. A significant association was seen between hypomagnesemia and various microvascular complications like retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy. Routine surveillance and timely treatment of hypomagnesemia is advisable for patients with T2DM.