Significant association between the presence of peripheral vascular calcification and lower serum magnesium in hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Vascular calcification, which significantly increases cardiovascular and other causes of mortality, is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between serum magnesium levels and vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients. 390 nondiabetic patients on maintenance hemodialysis (226 males and 164 females, 59 +/- 13 years) were examined. Hand roentgenography was performed in each patient, and visible vascular calcification of the hand arteries was evaluated. Blood was drawn to measure serum calcium, phosphate, magnesium and intact parathyroid hormone levels. There were 52 patients (38 males and 14 females) with vascular calcification, and 338 (188 males and 150 females) without. Serum phosphate was significantly higher in the former compared with the latter group (p < 0.005); serum intact parathyroid hormone was significantly higher (p < 0.05), whereas serum calcium was not statistically different between the two groups. Serum magnesium was significantly lower in patients with vascular calcification than in those without (2.69 +/- 0.28 vs. 2.78 +/- 0.33 mg/dl, p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that serum magnesium concentration was a significant independent factor associated with the presence of vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients (odds ratio 0.28, 95% CI 0.09 - 0.92/1 mg/dl increase in serum magnesium, p = 0.036) after adjustment for age, gender, duration of hemodialysis, calcium, phosphate and intact parathyroid hormone concentrations. Hypomagnesemia is significantly associated with the presence of vascular calcification of the hand arteries, independent of serum calcium and phosphate levels. These results suggest that higher serum magnesium concentrations may play an important protective role in the development of vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients, and that magnesium concentration of dialysis fluid may be reconsidered in view of preventing vascular calcification in hemodialysis patients.