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. 2025 Feb;34(1):104-111.
doi: 10.6133/apjcn.202502_34(1).0010.

Serum magnesium, not calcium, is inversely associated with abnormal HbA1c concentrations in adults with coronary artery disease

Hongli Dong #  1 , Nan Lu #  2 , Jie Wang  3 , Ping Hu  4
Affiliations

Serum magnesium, not calcium, is inversely associated with abnormal HbA1c concentrations in adults with coronary artery disease

Hongli Dong et al. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Mechanism studies have indicated that magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) have important biological functions in glucose regulation, but epidemiological data on their associations with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) are sparse. We aimed to explore the associations of Mg and Ca with abnormal HbA1c, and examine the mediating effects of inflammation in coronary artery disease (CAD) Chinese adults.

Methods and study design: A hospital-based cross-sectional study of 11934 patients with CAD was conducted. Serum Mg and Ca concentrations were measured.

Results: In multivariable analyses, Mg and Mg/Ca ratio were inversely associated with abnormal HbA1c (Q4 vs Q1: ORMg: 0.61, 95% CIMg: 0.53, 0.71; ORMg/Ca ratio: 0.67, 95% CIMg/Ca ratio: 0.54, 0.84). However, null association of Ca with abnormal HbA1c was shown (Q4 vs Q1: OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 0.92, 1.44). Serum Mg and Mg/Ca ratio were inversely associated with abnormal fasting blood glucose (FBG). In contrast, serum Ca was positively associated with abnormal FBG. Path analysis indicated that there were no mediating effects of hypersensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) on Mg and Mg/Ca-abnormal HbA1c associations.

Conclusions: Our study suggested that serum Mg and Mg/Ca ratio were inversely associated with abnormal HbA1c in Chinese adults with CAD. The Mg-abnormal HbA1c relationship might not be mediated by hsCRP.

Keywords: abnormal glycosylated hemoglobin; calcium; coronary artery disease; cross–sectional study; magnesium.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The mediating effects of hsCRP on the Mg and Mg/Ca-abnormal HbA1c associations among subjects with CAD in path analyses. CAD, coronary artery disease; Ca, calcium; hsCRP, hypersensitivity C reactive protein; Mg, magnesium; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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