Blood Mg²⁺ is more closely associated with hyperglycaemia than with hypertriacylglycerolaemia: the PREVEND study

Excerpt

To the Editor: Mg²⁺ affects beta cell function and insulin signalling and the relevance of abnormalities in Mg²⁺ regulation for the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus is being increasingly appreciated [1‐3]. Kurstjens et al recently reported that an increase in serum non-esterified fatty acids and triacylglycerols in response to an oral fat challenge is paralleled by reduced Mg²⁺ concentrations, thereby linking triacylglycerol metabolism to Mg²⁺ homeostasis [4]. In 285 individuals with a BMI >27 kg/m², they also observed that circulating Mg²⁺ levels, measured with a routinely available colourimetric assay (Roche/Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan), were inversely correlated with triacylglycerols and with large very-low-density lipoproteins, but not significantly so with plasma glucose [4]. In a cohort of 395 participants with type 2 diabetes, the same group showed inverse correlations of plasma Mg²⁺ with both triacylglycerols and glucose [5]. …