Serum Magnesium Level and Inflammation in Obese Medical Students at Ain Shams University

Abstract Background: Chronic systemic low-grade inflammation is a key feature of obesity because of adipose tissue inflam-mation with overexpressed pro-inflammatory cytokines. Magnesium (Mg) deficiency is one of the pathophysiological links between inflammation and obesity. Detection of factors contributing to obesity are therefore fundamental strategy in obesity management. Aim of Study: To determine the relationship between the serum level of Mg, dietary intake of Mg and inflammation among a sample of Medical Ain Shams students. Subjects and Methods: The current study is a descriptive study of 60 medical students divided into two equal groups. Group 1 includes normal weight students with BMI between 18.5-24.9kg/m2 and group 2 includes obese students with BMI >!30kg/m2. Results: There was a significant increase in BMI, Waist Circumference (WC), Waist Hip Ratio (WHR), C-Reactive Protein (CRP), and decrease in serum Mg and dietary intake of Mg in the obese group compared to normal weight group. Moreover, BMI, WC, and WHR were positively correlated with CRP and negatively correlated with serum Mg. Serum Mg and dietary intake of Mg were negatively correlated with CRP. Conclusion: Our study may lend an additional support to the positive relationship between obesity and inflammatory status. Also, it confirms the negative relationship between obesity/inflammatory stress to Mg status in this subset of obese students as compared to normal weight students in Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University.