Serum Magnesium Concentration in Children with Asthma

Objective: Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood, and magnesium is one of the most frequently found minerals in human body and it is used in the treatment of asthma. Although there are studies on magnesium levels in adult patients with asthma, there is yet no data on the levels of magnesium in children. The present study compared the levels of serum magnesium between the children with asthma and healthy children.
Methods: Children aged between 5 and 17 years with mild-moderate persistent asthma, who were admitted to our hospital between January 2009 and August 2010, were included in the study. Serum magnesium levels were measured in 50 patients with acute asthma attack, in 50 patients receiving treatment for stable asthma, and in 50 children admitted to the hospital for any reason and matched with asthma patients except for the diagnosis of asthma. The test was performed by photometric method using Roche-Hitachi Modular P biochemistry analyzer. The normal range of serum Mg was considered to be 1.59-to-2.10 mg/dL and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: All three groups were similar in terms of mean age and gender distribution. Although mean serum magnesium levels were within the normal range in healthy children and in children treated for stable asthma (1.89±0.32 and 1.93±0.34 mg/dL respectively), it was 1.62±0.26 mg/dL in children having an asthma attack, which was within the normal range but close to the lower limit (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Although its efficacy has not been definitely proven, magnesium is used either via intravenous route or as inhaler in acute asthma attack. Knowledge about the changes in body magnesium levels of asthma patients would be a guide for revealing the role of magnesium in the treatment of asthma. As was shown in the present study, magnesium levels tend to decrease in the body during acute attack.