Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Magnesium is the fourth most abundant cation in the body and plays an important physiological role in many of its functions. However, an association between hypomagnesemia and insulin resistance (IR) in diabetes has recently been found.

Objective: To determine the correlation between hypomagnesemia, glycemic imbalance and the degenerative complications of type 2 diabetes.

Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective study of type 2 diabetic patients hospitalized in the Endocrinology-Diabetology department since September 2018, including 100 patients. The different variables studied were: glycemic balance, magnesemia and degenerative complications of diabetes. Patients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 with hypomagnesemia and Group 2 with normal magnesium. Statistical analysis was univariate for all variables using SPSS software version 22.0.0.

Results: The mean age was 57±8.7 years with a sex ratio (M/F) of 0.8 in Group 1 and 0.6 in the control group (G2). The mean duration of diabetes progression was 9.7±2.6 years. Group 1 was more imbalanced than group 2 with an average HbA1c of 8.3 vs 2.3% respectively. With a fasting blood glucose average of 2.5 versus 1.8 g/l. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.02). Mean magnesium was 0.92 mmol/l with predominant hypomagnesemia in women (P=0.01). Diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy and neuropathy were observed in 43%, 28% and 14% of cases, respectively. These complications were more frequent in group 1, but without a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.6). Diabetic macroangiopathy, with coronary artery disease, was more common in group 1 with a prevalence of 28%, arteriopathy of the lower limbs, while cerebrovascular disease was also found only in G1 with a frequency of 13%. This frequency was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: In agreement with the literature, hypomagnesaemia was significantly correlated with poor glycemic control, with an increased incidence of degenerative complications. It is therefore prudent to regularly monitor magnesemia in all patients with type 2 diabetes.