Hypomagnesemia, a risk factor in diabetic retinopathy.

The serum magnesium concentration was measured in 71 insulin-treated diabetic outpatients who had had the disease for 10 to 20 years. The patients were divided into two subgroups according to the severity of their retinopathy. As a whole the patients exhibited a definite hypomagnesemia (P less than 0.001) that was most pronounced in the subgroup having the severest degree of retinopathy (P less than 0.01). The subgroups were comparable regarding known risk factors implicated in diabetic retinopathy. Thus, hypomagnesemia appears to be an additional risk factor in the development and progress of this complication.