Baseline Serum Magnesium Level and Its Variability in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients: Associations with Mortality

The study aimed at investigating the impact of serum magnesium (Mg) baseline level and its variability on mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.

Eligible patients receiving regular MHD at Ningbo No. 2 Hospital between January 2009 and August 2016 were enrolled and follow-ups were conducted afterwards until death or transplantation. General information, laboratory results, and outcomes of subjects were collected. The relationship between baseline serum Mg level, its coefficient of variation (CV), and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality were assessed, respectively. Subjects were divided into groups in 2 manners: by serum Mg level (lower Mg group: serum Mg <1.00 mmol/L, higher Mg group: serum Mg ≥1.00 mmol/L) and by serum Mg CV (high variation group: CV ≥0.149 mmol/L, middle variation group: 0.114 mmol/L ≤ CV < 0.149 mmol/L, and low variation group: CV <0.114 mmol/L).

169 MHD patients were recruited in the study, with mean serum Mg 1.00 ± 0.18 mmol/L, average age 60.20 ± 15.64 years, and median dialysis duration 37.00 (18.30, 77.97) months. During the follow-up, 69 (40.83%) patients died, 24 (34.78%) of which died due to cardiovascular disease. Comparing the two groups, patients in the lower Mg group had a higher all-cause mortality (50.00 vs. 29.33%, p = 0.007). The multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that lower Mg level was an independent factor for all-cause mortality as well as cardiovascular mortality (HR = 13.268, 95% CI 6.234-28.237, p < 0.001; HR = 12.702, 95% CI 3.737-43.174, p < 0.001, respectively). However, there were no significant statistical differences of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among these three groups concerning Mg variation. And in the univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, serum magnesium CV was not the independent factor for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality.

The lower baseline serum magnesium level was associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in MHD patients. However, the variability of magnesium level was not independently associated with the risk of death and further studies need to be conducted.