Serum magnesium, ambulatory blood pressure, and carotid artery alteration: the Ohasama study.
BACKGROUND
To investigate the associations of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and serum magnesium level (sMg) with risk of carotid artery alteration in a general population.


METHODS
sMg and ABP, monitored every 30 min, were measured in 728 subjects (mean age, 67 years) from the Japanese general population. The extent of carotid artery alteration was evaluated according to mean common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of focal carotid plaque. To determine the association of sMg and carotid artery alteration, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (for adjusted mean IMT) or multiple logistic regression analysis (for odds ratio (OR) for the presence of carotid plaques) was used.


RESULTS
Lower sMg was significantly associated with mean IMT (P = 0.004) and risk of ≥2 carotid plaques (P = 0.03) after adjusting for possible confounding factors, including 24-h ABP (systolic), creatinine clearance (Ccr) (estimated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation), and serum minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, and inorganic phosphorus). Even when 24-h ABP values were within normal range (<130/80 mm Hg), lower sMg levels (<2.2 mg/dl) were significantly associated with mean IMT (P = 0.007) and risk of ≥2 carotid plaques (OR, 2.14; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-3.85; P = 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Both 24-h ABP and lower sMg were closely and independently associated with risk of carotid artery alteration. Further investigations are needed to examine the relationship between sMg levels and the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
Hashimoto
Takanao
T
Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Hara
Azusa
A
Ohkubo
Takayoshi
T
Kikuya
Masahiro
M
Shintani
Yoriko
Y
Metoki
Hirohito
H
Inoue
Ryusuke
R
Asayama
Kei
K
Kanno
Atsuhiro
A
Nakashita
Manami
M
Terata
Shiho
S
Obara
Taku
T
Hirose
Takuo
T
Hoshi
Haruhisa
H
Totsune
Kazuhito
K
Satoh
Hiroshi
H
Imai
Yutaka
Y
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008274:Magnesium / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography
D008274:Magnesium