Changes of total content of serum magnesium in elderly Chinese women with osteoporosis.

Objective: To explore whether the serum levels of magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) differ between osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic elderly Chinese women.

Methods: Using WHO classification criteria based on bone mineral density (BMD), general healthy Chinese women older than 65 yr were classified as osteoporosis (OP), osteopenia, and normal group according to the T-score of the femur neck. Then their physical characteristics, serum levels of magnesium (sMg), calcium (sCa), and other biochemical measurements were analyzed.

Results: Altogether, 324 subjects were included in the final analysis with 77 in OP, 137 in osteopenia, 110 in normal group. The level of sMg in women with OP is significantly higher (0.91+/-0.11 mmol/L) than both the osteopenia (0.88 +/- 0.09 mmol/L) and the normal (0.877+/-0.08 mmol/L) even after being adjusted for both age and body mass index (BMI), which might result from potentially low levels of sCa. sMg inversely related to sCa in subjects with OP (r=-0.240, p=0.038), whereas the total levels of sCa and sMg kept relatively steady.

Conclusion: High content of sMg and potentially low content of sCa could be a feature of the serum profile of elderly Chinese women with OP, the clinical significance of which needs further elucidation. Supplementation of Mg for elderly Chinese women with OP did not appear to be necessary.