Mahesh Chavan1, Shivanand Basavaraj Nadagoudar2, Umakant Boke3
BACKGROUND
Liver disease is considered as one of the major global burdens of disease in annual global burden of disease (GBD) analysis. In India, liver disease is the tenth most common cause of death. Trace element concentrations in liver diseases play a vital role in morbidity and mortality, they are markers of oxidative stress levels in the liver. Magnesium is the second most abundant intracellular cation and is a cofactor for many enzymatic reactions involving energy metabolism. Magnesium supplementation can improve liver function in liver diseases. This study comprehensively reviews the changes in magnesium concentrations associated with liver diseases.
METHODS
A cross-sectional observational study of 55 patients with acute and chronic liver diseases were included and the laboratory parameters like total bilirubin, serum magnesium etc. were collected from the patient, admitted in S. Nijalingappa Medical College and HSK Hospital, Bagalkot district Karnataka. RESULTS Total of 55 patients with liver diseases were included in our study, out of which majority of them were chronic liver disease patients with 61.8 %. Mean total bilirubin of the patients was more than 6 times the upper limit of normal (normal 0.2 - 1.0 mg %) which was 6.4 mg %, mean serum magnesium was lower than the normal, which was 1.73 mg/dl (normal 1.9 -2.9 mg/dl). Further we observed the possibility of link between the total bilirubin levels and the serum magnesium levels in all the patients with liver diseases, and it was noted that there is no correlation between the total bilirubin levels and serum magnesium levels, a non-significant relationship.
CONCLUSIONS
In our study conducted, patients with liver diseases presented with ascites, lower limb oedema, icterus, and some with hepatic encephalopathy. Majority of them are chronic liver disease, almost all of them had lower serum magnesium levels. The correlation between the level of serum magnesium and the total bilirubin levels of the patients in our study is observed and it showed negative correlation between level of total bilirubin and magnesium, a non-significant relationship.
