Objective: The objective of this study was to assess serum magnesium levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes with established microvascular complications and to correlate it with the severity of vascular complications. Methodology: A prospective analytical cross-sectional study among 100 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with microvascular complications in the diabetology department of a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, India, was conducted. Serum magnesium levels were assessed and correlated with the severity of microvascular complications and the presence of macrovascular complications. Results: The mean age of participants was 58.8 years, and the duration of diabetes was 13.5 years. The mean fasting plasma glucose was 203.6 mg/dl, and the mean serum magnesium level was 0.70 ± 0.14 mmol/L. Forty-three percent had normal magnesium levels, 19% had levels at the lower limit of normal (0.7 mmol/L), and 38% had deficiency (<0.7 mmol/L). A statistically significant association was seen between serum magnesium deficiency and diabetic retinopathy ( P < 0.001), nephropathy ( P < 0.001), and coronary artery disease (CAD) ( P = 0.030). Among those with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), magnesium deficiency was present in 42.1% compared to 2.3% with normal levels. Hypomagnesemia was seen in 39.5% with Stages 3 and 4 nephropathy, and in those with normal levels of magnesium, no one belonged to Stage 3 or 4 nephropathy. A higher prevalence of CAD was seen among individuals with magnesium deficiency (21.1%) compared to those with normal serum magnesium levels (7.0%). Conclusion: This study demonstrates a high prevalence of magnesium deficiency in patients with T2DM and microvascular complications and establishes a strong inverse association between serum magnesium levels and the severity of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, and CAD.
Saravanan et al. (2026) studied this question.