Serum magnesium and atherogenic lipid fractions in type II diabetic patients of Lahore, Pakistan.

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hypomagnesemia and its effect on the lipid profile of local type II diabetic patients. For this purpose, 219 diabetic patients and 100 age-matched control subjects were enrolled. Blood samples of the subjects were analyzed for fasting glucose, Mg, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol. Results showed that mean serum values of these parameters were differing in diabetic patients as compared to control subjects. The reference range of serum magnesium in healthy controls was 1.2-4.4 mg/dl. Mean serum magnesium in diabetic patients was significantly lower as compared to healthy subjects (1.6 ± 0.23 mg/dl vs. 2.8 ± 0.8 mg/dl). Among diabetic patients, 143 (65.3%) had serum magnesium level below 1.7 mg/dl (hypomagnesemia). The corresponding figure for control subjects was 11 (11%). The difference was significant (p < 0.01). Diabetes mellitus patients with current hyperglycemic status had significantly lower serum Mg as compared to euglycemic patients (p = 0.05). Serum Mg in diabetic patients was correlated with all lipid parameters. Among them, HDL-cholesterol was significantly (p < 0.05) positively correlated (r = 0.34), while total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol was negatively correlated, albeit non-significantly, with serum Mg. These results demonstrate that hypomagnesemia is accompanied by atherogenic alterations in the lipid profiles of type II diabetic patients of Lahore, Pakistan.