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Erythrocyte magnesium concentration as an index of magnesium status: a perspective from a magnesium supplementation
L E Basso1, J B Ubbink, R Delport
1Department of Chemical Pathology, University of Pretoria, P.O. Box 2034, Pretoria, South Africa. lbasso@medic.up.ac.za
Abstract:
We investigated the utility of erythrocyte magnesium concentrations as an index of magnesium status. Calculated from the analytical and biological variation, the critical difference, i.e. the difference between results from serial specimens before they can be said to be statistically different, was 22.4% (P<0.05). Magnesium supplementation of 250 mg/day for 3 weeks in 20 women with an erythrocyte magnesium concentration less than the 15th percentile of a population sample (n=219), resulted in an increase in erythrocyte magnesium concentration of only 1.6%. We therefore conclude that sequential erythrocyte magnesium measurements are not useful for the monitoring of individual changes in magnesium intake and status.