Association of Serum Magnesium and Cardiovascular Events in End Stage Renal Disease Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients display cardiovascular complications which is a significant feature for surge in death rate and morbidity. Vascular calcification manifests prematurely in renal failure patients and progresses often in an enhanced manner in subjects with hypomagnesaemia in comparison to the common herd. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate if there is any association with serum Magnesium (Mg) levels and future cardiovascular events in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) stage-5 patients. Materials and Methods: The present prospective cohort study was conducted on 60 CKD patients presenting to the Department of Nephrology at Government Medical College, Kottayam, Kerala, India, from 6th May 2016 to 5th May 2017. 5 mL of venous blood samples were collected and separated serum was used to determine Mg using the Xylidyl blue method in a fully automated clinical chemistry analyser, the Beckman Coulter AU 480. The study subjects were also grouped based on all causes of mortality due to cardiovascular events after follow-up for one year. Statistical analysis was performed by using Fischer’s-exact test, Pearson’s Chi-square, and Pearson’s correlation test. The p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Sixty subjects study population were in the age group ranging from 20-79 years, including 47 (78.3%) males and 13 (21.7%) females. The mean Mg level in those who developed an event was 2.32±0.41 mg/dL and in those who did not develop an event was 2.41±0.45. This difference in mean was not statistically significant with independent t test with t value=- 0.69 and p-value=0.49. There was no significant association between low serum Mg levels and occurrence of cardiovascular event with p-value >0.05. Conclusion: Although Mg has been shown to effectively slow down calcification in controlled settings, additional elements impacting calcium deposition in CKD individuals must not be overlooked.