Association of serum magnesium levels with acute ischaemic stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a propensity score-matched case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: Magnesium (Mg) deficiency has been found to be associated with many clinical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular diseases and likewise. Studies evaluating the association between serum Mg levels and ischaemic stroke in T2DM from India are limited, and this formed the aim of this study. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study among patients with T2DM where cases had a history of acute ischaemic stroke in the preceding 2 years and controls with no such history. Data regarding sociodemographic and clinical details and laboratory parameters, including serum Mg concentration, were collected using a semistructured questionnaire. Furthermore, propensity score matching (PSM) was done to match the controls with the cases. RESULTS: We enrolled a total of 200 participants (cases: 75 and controls: 125), but after PSM, 149 participants (cases: 75 and control:74) were analysed. The serum Mg concentrations were significantly low (p<0.001) among the cases (mean (SD)=1.74 (0.22)) when compared with the controls (mean (SD)=1.95 (0.13)). For every 0.1 mg/dL decrease in serum Mg concentration, the odds of ischaemic stroke increase by approximately 1.918 times (95% CI 1.272 to 2.890; p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The mean Mg level in the ischaemic stroke group was significantly low compared with the no stroke group in patients with T2DM. We recommend further controlled studies to evaluate the role of Mg supplementation in the management of acute ischaemic stroke.

Vitamin D deficiency in rheumatoid arthritis patients of India - a single-arm meta-analysis.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is commonly seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: This meta-analysis is aimed to determine the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in RA patients in India and also to evaluate the association between vitamin D level and disease activity. Methods: The relevant works of literature were identified through multiple databases and data was extracted from eligible studies independently. A single-arm meta-analysis was performed to estimate the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in RA patients in an Indian setup and its association with disease activity. A total of 15 studies was included in the analyses. Results: The mean serum vitamin D level was 19.99 ng/ml [95% CI 16.49-24.23]. The proportion of patients with low vitamin D level was 0.80 [95% CI 0.65- 0.90], Vitamin D deficiency was 0.56 [95% CI 0.31-0.77] and vitamin D insufficiency was 0.20 [95% CI 0.12- 0.32]. A negative relationship was seen with serum vitamin D and disease activity score. Conclusions: The results demonstrate significant low levels of serum vitamin D levels in patients with RA and established a negative correlation of Vitamin D with RA disease activity. The current evidence suggests a rationale for Vitamin D supplementation in the management of RA.