Why would serum magnesium be low?
Hypomagnesemia is an electrolyte disturbance caused when there is a low level of serum magnesium (less than 1.46 mg/dL) in the blood. Hypomagnesemia can be attributed to chronic disease, alcohol use disorder, gastrointestinal losses, renal losses, and other conditions.
What does it mean when your magnesium level is low?
Over time, low magnesium can weaken your bones, give you bad headaches, make you feel nervous, and even hurt your heart. It can also lead to low levels of other important minerals like calcium and potassium. High levels of magnesium are much less common than low levels.
What diseases cause low magnesium?
Magnesium deficiency can cause a wide variety of features including hypocalcaemia, hypokalaemia and cardiac and neurological manifestations. Chronic low magnesium state has been associated with a number of chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and osteoporosis.
What is a dangerously low magnesium level?
A doctor will usually consider a diagnosis of hypomagnesemia where there are fewer than 1.8 milligrams of magnesium per deciliter of blood. Deficiencies do not always cause problems, but some early symptoms include muscle twitching, numbness, and tingling.
What is the normal serum magnesium level?
Normal serum magnesium concentrations range between 0.75 and 0.95 millimoles (mmol)/L [1,5]. Hypomagnesemia is defined as a serum magnesium level less than 0.75 mmol/L [6].
Who is most at risk for magnesium deficiency?
Women should be getting 320 milligrams per day; men, 420 mg. Older people are at risk for magnesium deficiency because they not only tend to consume less of it than younger adults but also may absorb less from what they eat, and their kidneys may excrete more of it.
Are serum magnesium levels accurate?
Blood serum test is not an accurate measure of magnesium deficiency [Press release]. Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health.