Publication:

A cross sectional study evaluating the association of serum calcium, serum magnesium, and body mass index in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Background To determine serum calcium, serum magnesium, and BMI (body mass index) in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and find out any changes in these after menopause, and  the independent association of serum calcium, serum magnesium with BMI in pre and post-menopausal women , if any.

Methods 100 adult women attending Gauhati medical college outdoor clinics were included in the study. Patients with medical history of major systemic diseases, women on hormone replacement therapy, and women who had surgical menopause were not included in the study. Estimation of serum calcium and serum magnesium from cubital venous blood was done by photocolorimetry method. For statistical analysis the value of laboratory parameters were presented as the Mean±SD (standard deviation). A Student’s unpaired t-test was used for cross-sectional comparisons of continuous variables between the groups.

Results The mean serum calcium and also the mean serum magnesium levels were lower in the postmenopausal group and was statistically significant. Though the mean BMI in the postmenopausal group was higher than the premenopausal group, it was found to be statistically not significant.

Conclusions The postmenopausal subjects had lower mean values of serum calcium and serum magnesium, but within the normal serum reference values.