Serum Magnesium Concentrations İn Type 1 Diabetic Patients:
Serum magnesium concentrations in type 1 diabetic patients:
Relation to early atherosclerosis
Mehmet Emre Atabek
a;*; Selim Kurtoglu b; Ozgur Pirgon a; Murat Baykara c
a
Department of Pediatrics; Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes; Selcuk University; Faculty of Medicine;
Cocuk Sagligi ve Hastaliklari; 42080 Konya; Turkey
b
Department of Pediatrics; Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes;
Faculty of Medicine; Erciyes University; Kayseri; Turkey
c
Department of Radiology; Faculty of Medicine; Erciyes University; Kayseri; Turkey
Received 11 March 2005; received in revised form 13 May 2005; accepted 6 September 2005
Available online 7 October 2005
Abstract
Hypomagnesemia and sub-clinical atherosclerosis are common in type 1 diabetic patients; and are especially common in poorly
controlled and chronically treated diabetics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between serum magnesium (Mg)
and intima-media thickness (IMT); and functions of common carotid artery (CCA); accepted as markers of early carotid
atherosclerosis in type 1 diabetic patients. Serum magnesium levels were measured in 51 diabetic patients (26 girls and 25
boys). Age; duration of diabetes as well as major cardiovascular risk factors; including anthropometric and metabolic parameters
were matched between girls and boys. CCA structure and functions were measured by ultrasonography as IMT; cross-sectional
compliance (CSC); cross-sectional distensibility (CSD); diastolic wall stress (DWS); and incremental elastic modulus (IEM). The
difference for serum Mg was significant between diabetic girls and boys (0.75
0.09 mmol/l versus 0.86 0.14 mmol/l; p = 0.02).
Mg levels were correlated with IMT (
r = 0.58; p = 0.004) and DWS (r = 0.49; p = 0.01) in girls and with IMT (r = 0.55;
p
= 0.007) and DWS (r = 0.46; p = 0.03) in boys. In a multivariate regression model; Mg; systolic blood pressure and waist-hip
ratio emerged as independent correlates for mean IMT in girls with the total variance explained being 63%; and Mg and
triglycerides emerged as independent correlates for mean IMT in boys with the total variance explained being 68%. Mg did not
emerge as independent correlates for mean DWS in both girls and boys. Serum magnesium levels in children and adolescent patients
with type 1 diabetes are associated with early atherosclerosis.
#
2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Type 1 diabetes; Atherosclerosis; Magnesium
1. Introduction
Cardiovascular disease is a common cause of morbidity
and mortality in type 1 diabetes
[1]; and carotid artery
stiffness and intima-media thickness (IMT) measured by
ultrasonography are correlated with atherosclerosis and
cardiovascular disease in patients with type 1 diabetes
[2].
In comparison to the general population; cardiovascular
mortality is increased approximately four-fold and is
further magnified in diabetic patients with albuminuria
[1;3]
. In type 1 diabetes; the presence of traditional
cardiovascular risk factors may not entirely explain this
excess cardiovascular risk.
A magnesium deficiency has been described in
patients with type 1 diabetes
[4–6]. Such Mg deficits
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Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 72 (2006) 42–47
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 332 223 6350;
fax: +90 332 223 6181.
E-mail address:
meatabek@hotmail.com (M.E. Atabek).
0168-8227/$ – see front matter
# 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2005.09.002