assessment of serum magnesium level and its relation with atherosclerotic carotid intima media thickness in post-menopausal women

objective: a magnesium deficiency is known to be involved in many abnormalities in the post-menopausal women. previous studies proposed that magnesium (mg) might prevent atherosclerosis. in this study the efficacy of serum magnesium level and its relation with carotid intima media thickness (cimt) in post-menopausal women was evaluated. methods: eighty iranian postmenopausal women were included in final analysis.the serum mg level was evaluated. the cimt was assessed bilaterally using an ultrasonography in the 4 points at 2 cm proximal to the bulb, the 4 points at 2 cm distal to the bulb and 2 points at the carotid bulb and averaged to obtain the mean imt.a thorough history of age and duration of menopause was taken from each patients. data was analysed by spss software. results: in all the patients of case group, a significant increase in intima media thickness of common carotid artery was observed(p≤0.001).increased intima media thickness was associated with reduced serum level of mg. conclusion: this study shows that lower serum level of mg are associated with higher cimt in postmenopausal women. nutritional status of the customary high intake of the marginal mg might well be contributory to prevent the adverse effects of cardiovascular diseases.therefore ,patients with lower serum level of mg may have a high risk of increased cimt.