Effects of Ethanol Administration on Urinary Excretion of Magnesium and Other Electrolytes in Alcoholic and Normal Subjects*

Although clinical magnesium deficiency is now recognized frequently in chronic alcoholics, its cause or causes are not clear. A poor dietary intake is undoubtedly important, but it is unlikely that magnesium deficiency results from dietary depletion alone, since it has been quite difficult to produce experimental dietary magnesium defi- ciency in man (2). Earlier workers have shown that the kidneys are reasonably efficient in con- serving magnesium (2, 3). Thus, it is likely that some additional mechanism may be respon- sible for magnesium deficiency associated with chronic alcoholism. Recent studies have indicated that ethanol may induce increased urinary ex- cretion of magnesium (4, 5). The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of an acute ethanol load on urinary excretion of mag- nesium and other electrolytes, and to make pre- liminary observations on the mechanism respon- sible for an observed increase in urinary excretion of magnesium.