Type 2 diabetes control and complications and their relation to serum magnesium level

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing health problem nationally and worldwide. Magnesium is an important mineral that is essential for a wide range of metabolic reactions. Here, our primary goal was to determine the prevalence of hypomagnesemia and its relationship to glycemic control, cardiovascular markers, and T2D-related complications.

A cross-sectional study was performed from September 2015 to March 2017 including adult patients with T2D who attended the Endocrine and Diabetes Center, Taif, Saudi Arabia. Those with known hypomagnesemia, patients with type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes, patients with end-stage renal disease, and those on magnesium supplementations were excluded. Those with a serum magnesium level < 0.7 mmol/l were considered to have hypomagnesemia. Otherwise, patients were considered to have a normal serum Mg level.

A total of 285 patients with a mean age of 59.4 ±12.7 years were enrolled. The majority of patients were female, with long-standing T2D, with a mean body mass index in the obesity category, and most of them had comorbid conditions. Twenty-eight percent of the screened T2D patients had hypomagnesemia and this group were more likely to have a bachelor degree (p = 0.034), to be on metformin, statin, and glargine insulin (all p < 0.05), have worse glycemic control (p < 0.05), and a higher pulse rate (p = 0.039), but were less likely to be on diet control (p = 0.034) when compared to those with a normal Mg level.

Almost one-third of the screened T2D patients have hypomagnesemia. Hypomagnesemia was associated with the treatment modalities, worse glycemic control, and with peripheral artery disease.