Magnesium Status and Ca/Mg Ratios in a Series of Children and Adolescents with Chronic Diseases

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) is an essential divalent cation involved in various enzymatic reactions that regulate vital biological functions. The main goal was to evaluate Mg status and its association with nutritional indicators in 78 children and adolescents with chronic diseases. We assessed anthropometric, biochemical, diet, body composition, and bone densitometry valuations. Serum Mg and Ca levels were determined using the standardized method and diet calcium (Ca) and Mg consumption by a prospective 72 h diet survey. Mean serum Ca (9.9 mg/dL), Mg (2.08 mg/dL) dietary Ca (102% DRI: Dietary Reference Intake), and Mg intake (105% DRI) were normal. A total of 45% had hypomagnesemia, 12% had hypermagnesemia, and 26% and 24% had inadequate and high Mg intake, respectively. Only 6% of patients had poor Mg intake and hypomagnesemia, and 54% and 90% of our series had an elevated serum Ca/Mg ratio > 4.70 (mean 4.79) and a low Ca/Mg intake ratio < 1.70 (mean 1.06), respectively. Both Ca/Mg ratios were linked with the risk of developing other chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, syndrome metabolic, and even several cancers. Therefore, 79% of children and adolescents with chronic diseases were at elevated risk of having abnormal Mg status and developing other chronic illnesses.

Hypomagnesemia and Fractional Excretion of Magnesium (FeMg) in Children with Nephrotic Syndrome

“…Dietic factors are less likely to in uence serum magnesium levels in chronic conditions. [20] Serum magnesium levels were low in 5/6 (83.3%) patients with FSGS on biopsy, in contrast to 9/19 (47.4%) with MCD, but the difference was not statistically signi cant possibly due to a small sample size. Variability of magnesium wasting with the histopathology type has been described in a previous study.…”

Evaluation of micronutrient status in pediatric palliative care clinic: a single-center cross-sectional study

“…In studies conducted on children with CP, magnesium levels were lower than those in the control group [23,31]. Hypomagnesemia was reported in 45% and hypermagnesemia in 12% of patients with a history of chronic disease [20]. In their study, Carman et al there was no signi cant difference between the magnesium levels of patients with CP and those of the control group [22].…”

“…Hypocalcemia has been the subject of studies in children who are critically ill [18,19]. Only Escobedo-Monge et al reported the occurrence of hypocalcemia in pediatric patients with a history of chronic disease, while Chidomere et al reported the occurrence of hypocalcemia in children with CP [20,21]. However, in a study by Carman et al, no signi cant differences were observed in calcium levels between patients with CP and a control group [22].…”

Calcium, Phosphate, and Vitamin D in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The design of this cross-sectional and comparative study (Figure 1) has been previously published [6,16,17]. This study was set up in the Nutrition Unit of the Pediatric Service at the University Clinical Hospital in Valladolid, Spain.…”

“…Serum prealbumin ≤18 mg/dL, albumin ≤3.5 g/dL as visceral protein reserve, transferrin ≤200 mg/dL, lymphocytes <2000 cell/mm 3 , total cholesterol (TC) >200 (mildmoderate risk) and >225 mg/dL (high risk), and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) >115 (mild-moderate risk) and >135 mg/dL (high risk), were used as cutoffs to evaluate abnormal values. Total immunoglobulin (Ig) G levels, IgG1-4, IgA, IgM, and IgE, complement C3 and C4, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16 + 56, CD19 T-lymphocytes and CD4/CD8 ratio, insulin-like growth factor −1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), folic acid, beta-carotene, Vit-B12, Vit-C, Vit-D, Vit-E, Ca, P, Fe, and Mg [17] were measured using standardized methods. Determination of serum Zn [16] and copper (Cu) [6] was carried out in the Department of Chemistry of the University of Valladolid.…”