Serum Magnesium and Type-2 Diabetes in African Americans and Hispanics: a New York Cohort

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of serum Mg with stage of diabetes measured by fasting serum glucose in a cohort of 485 African American and Hispanic adults.

Methods: The cross sectional Rosetta study was designed to assess body composition in a multi-racial cohort of healthy adults living in New York City. The data utilized for the current analyses were collected during the years 1990 to 2000. Serum Mg and glucose were measured after a 10-12 hour fast. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to measure fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM).

Results: The mean age of the cohort was 53 +/- 16 years. Hispanics had significantly lower (p < 0.05) mean serum Mg levels (0.82 +/- 0.07 mmol/L vs. 0.85 +/- 0.07 mmol/L) and FFM (48.8 +/- 10.9 kg vs. 50.9 +/- 10.3 kg) compared to African Americans. In both race/ethnic groups, individuals classified as having diabetes had significantly (p < 0.001) lower serum concentrations of Mg (0.80 +/- 0.07 mmol/L) compared to the normal group (0.84 +/- 0.07 mmol/L).

Conclusions: These results show that in African American and Hispanic adults, those with diabetes have lower serum Mg levels compared to those classified as pre-diabetic or those with normal fasting glucose levels.