Hypomagnesemia has been reported to occur at an increased frequency among patients with type 2 diabetes compared with their counterparts without diabetes. Despite numerous reports linking hypomagnesemia to chronic diabetic complications, attention to this issue is poor among clinicians. This article reviews the literature on the metabolism of magnesium, incidence of hypomagnesemia in patients with type 2 diabetes, implicated contributing factors, and associated complications. Hypomagnesemia occurs at an incidence of 13.5 to 47.7% among patients with type 2 diabetes. Poor dietary intake, autonomic dysfunction, altered insulin metabolism, glomerular hyperfiltration, osmotic diuresis, recurrent metabolic acidosis, hypophosphatemia, and hypokalemia may be contributory. Hypomagnesemia has been linked to poor glycemic control, coronary artery diseases, hypertension, diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and foot ulcerations. The increased incidence of hypomagnesemia among patients with type 2 diabetes presumably is multifactorial. Because current data suggest adverse outcomes in association with hypomagnesemia, it is prudent to monitor magnesium routinely in this patient population and treat the condition whenever possible.

Although magnesium is involved in a wide spectrum of vital functions in normal human physiology, the significance of hypomagnesemia and necessity for its treatment are under-recognized and underappreciated in clinical practice. In the current review, we first present an overview of the clinical significance of hypomagnesemia and normal magnesium metabolism, with a focus on renal magnesium handling. Subsequently, we review the literature for both congenital and acquired hypomagnesemic conditions that affect the various steps in normal magnesium metabolism. Finally, we present an approach to the routine evaluation and suggested management of hypomagnesemia.

The prevalence of pain has been reported to be >60–70% among patients with advanced and end-stage kidney disease. Although the underlying etiologies of pain may vary, pain per se has been linked to lower quality of life and depression. The latter is of great concern given its known association with reduced survival among patients with end-stage kidney disease. We herein discuss and update the management of pain in patients with chronic kidney disease with and without requirement for renal replacement therapy with the focus on optimizing pain control while minimizing therapy-induced complications.

Pain has been reported to be a common problem in the general population and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Although similar data for pre-ESRD patients are lacking, we recently reported that the prevalence of pain is also very high (>70%) among pre-ESRD patients at a Los Angeles County tertiary referral centre. The high prevalence of pain in the CKD population is particularly concerning because pain has been shown to be associated with poor quality of life. Of greater concern, poor quality of life, at least in dialysis patients, has been shown to be associated with poor survival. We herein discuss the pathophysiology of common pain conditions, review a commonly accepted approach to the management of pain in the general population, and discuss analgesic-induced renal complications and therapeutic issues specific for patients with reduced renal function.

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