Serum magnesium level is associated with type 2 diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus: the Korea National Diabetes Program study.

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a strong predictor of postpartum

prediabetes and transition to overt type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Although many reports

indicate that low magnesium is correlated with deteriorated glucose tolerance,

the association between postpartum serum magnesium level and the risk for T2DM in

women with a history of GDM has not been evaluated. We analyzed postpartum serum

magnesium levels and development of prediabetes and T2DM in women with prior GDM

according to American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria using the Korean

National Diabetes Program (KNDP) GDM cohort. During a mean follow-up of 15.6 +/-

2.0 months after screening, 116 women were divided into three groups according to

glucose tolerance status. Ultimately, eight patients (6.9%) were diagnosed with

T2DM, 59 patients (50.9%) with prediabetes, and 49 patients (42.2%) with normal

glucose tolerance (NGT) after follow-up. The T2DM group had the lowest serum

magnesium level (0.65 [0.63-0.68] mM/L) in the postpartum period, but there was

no significant difference between the prediabetes group (0.70 [0.65-0.70] mM/L)

and the NGT group (0.70 [0.65-0.70] mM/L) (P=0.073) Multiple logistic regression

analysis showed that postpartum HOMA-IR was a significant predictor of both

prediabetes and T2DM. Moreover, we found that postpartum serum magnesium level

was also a possible predictor for T2DM development. Serum magnesium level in the

postpartum period may be a possible predictor for T2DM development in women with

a history of GDM.