Magnesium and diabetes mellitus: their relation

Abstract

The aim of this review was to elaborate a synthesis about the discussions on magnesium and diabetes mellitus, in the last 14 years. The magnesium deficiency has been associated with chronic diseases, amongst them, diabetes mellitus. Epidemiological studies had shown low levels of magnesium ingestion in the general population, as well as a relation between the ingestion of food rich in magnesium and the reduction of diabetes installation and its complications. Hypomagnesemia is frequently present in diabetic patients, however there is not an exact elucidation of the mechanism of magnesium deficiency in diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, in the presence of this illness, it is observed that inadequate metabolic control can affect the corporal concentrations of magnesium, developing hypomagnesemia, which may be still directly related with some micro and macrovascular complications observed in diabetes, as cardiovascular disease, retinopathy and neuropathy. This way, the chronic complications of diabetes can appear precociously. Based on this, the supplementation with magnesium has been suggested in patients with diabetes mellitus who have proven hypomagnesemia and the presence of its complications.