An investigation of hypomagnesemia among ambulatory urban African Americans

BACKGROUND. Magnesium represents the fourth most abundant cation in the bod y and plays an integral role in intracellular metabolism. Although magnesiu m deficiency states have been associated with a variety of medical conditio ns, the prevalence of hypomagnesemia has not been well studied, particularl y in ambulatory settings. METHODS. We performed a period prevalence study using 120 patients seen for routine medical care at an urban family medicine center. Chart reviews wer e completed for these subjects. We used univariate and multivariate analyse s to correlate magnesium levels with demographic and clinical factors. RESULTS. There was a 20% overall prevalence of hypomagnesemia among this pr edominantly female, African American population. The prevalence of hypomagn esemia was greatest among patients with a history of alcoholism (odds ratio [OR] = 6.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41 - 26.1) and among those ha ving 1 or more of the following medical conditions: diabetes, hyperlipidemi a, hypertension, renal disease, and asthma (OR = 4.69; 95% CI, 1.37 - 17.65 ). CONCLUSIONS. The prevalence of hypomagnesemia among patients from this urba n minority community exceeds that reported in previous studies of the gener al population. This may be reflective of greater comorbidity, diminished nu tritional status, or poorer overall health among patients from this communi ty. The association between hyperlipidemia and magnesium deficiency warrant s further investigation.