Dietary intake of magnesium in a type 1 diabetic pediatric population.

Several studies suggest the importance of adequate magnesium intake in the prevention of diabetes and/or its complications. The main objective of this study is to determine the daily dietary intake of magnesium in type 1 Algerian pediatric diabetics. The study involved a pediatric population of 201 individuals aged from 3 to 17 years, including 96 type 1 diabetics and 105 controls. The daily dietary intake of magnesium was determined by the 24-hour recall. The correlation between the intake of magnesium and glycemic control has been assessed in diabetics. The odds ratio was used to study the relationship between dietary magnesium intake and diabetes through multinomial logistic regression. The results indicate that there are 84% of diabetics with low magnesium intake compared to 61% of controls (P = 0.001). A negative but no significant correlation was found between magnesium intake, glycemia, and HbA1c. The multinomial logistic regression model showed that daily dietary magnesium intakes, lower than EFSA adequate intake, are associated with an OR of 5.50 (1.92-15.74; P = 0.002) in adjusted model for age, sex, and BMI. It is necessary to correct the low dietary intake of magnesium by changing the eating habits of the pediatric populations in western Algeria and more particularly type 1 diabetics.