Hypomagnesemia, oxidative stress, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome

Although hypomagnesemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, there is not a previous description concerning their potential interaction; thus, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS), hypomagnesemia, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

Case-control design study. Incident cases of MetS (84 women and 63 men) were compared with healthy control subjects (163 women and 131 men) matched by age and gender. MetS was diagnosed according to the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criterion. Oxidative stress was defined by serum malondialdehyde concentration (MDA) > or =50 mg/dL, low-grade chronic inflammation by C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels > or =3 mg/L, and hypomagnesemia by serum magnesium concentrations < or =1.8 mg/dL.

Multivariate analysis adjusted by age, sex, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and total adiposity showed a strong association between MetS and hypomagnesemia (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.3-7.1), inflammation (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.4-8.4), and oxidative stress (OR 1.4; 95% CI 0.9-12.6). Additional adjustment by CRP levels showed that MetS remained associated to hypomagnesemia (OR 1.4; 95% CI 1.1-5.9) but not to oxidative stress (OR 1.1; 95% CI 0.9-5.9), and adjusted by MDA levels, MetS remained strongly associated to hypomagnesemia (1.6; CI 95% 1.1-7.4), but not to inflammation (OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.97-14.2). Adjusted by serum magnesium levels, inflammation (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1-9.1) and oxidative stress (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.1-9.7) were slightly associated to MetS.

The interaction of inflammation and oxidative stress is related and increases the risk for MetS, whereas serum magnesium levels and MetS are independently associated.