Prevalence of hypo- and hypermagnesemia in an Iranian urban population.
BACKGROUND
Magnesium (Mg) plays an important role in metabolic processes and its deficiency or excess could adversely affect metabolism. Although magnesium deficiency and excess is associated with a variety of medical conditions, the prevalence of hypo- and hypermagnesemia have not been reported in an Iranian urban population.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study was performed on 1558 subjects (754 males and 804 females), randomly selected from among participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS). Serum Mg level was measured by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Hypo- and hypermagnesemia were defined by serum Mg < 0.75 mmol/L and Mg>1.04 mmol/L, respectively, and sub-optimal serum Mg concentrations were defined by serum Mg < 0.8 mmol/L.


RESULTS
The prevalence of hypomagnesemia was 4.6% in the total population, being more prevalent in females (6.0%) compared to males (3.2%) (p < 0.05). The overall prevalence of hypermagnesemia was 3.0% and it was more prevalent in males (3.2%) than females (2.7%) (p < 0.05). Sub-optimal Mg levels were found in 14.6% of the total population.


CONCLUSIONS
The data show a relatively high prevalence of abnormal levels of serum Mg, among a general population; levels which may contribute to the pathophysiology of several diseases.
Syedmoradi
Leila
L
Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ghasemi
Asghar
A
Zahediasl
Saleh
S
Azizi
Fereidoun
F
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004435:Eating; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008274:Magnesium / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014504:Urban Health
D001786:Blood Glucose; D008274:Magnesium