Publication:

Study of serum calcium and serum magnesium levels in newly diagnosed hypertensives

Background In normal vascular tissue physiology, calcium plays a crucial role. Calcium and magnesium metabolism have been implicated in the pathogenesis of primary hypertension. The present study aimed to assess serum calcium and serum magnesium levels and to study the association of the serum magnesium and serum calcium levels with hypertension in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients of Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Methods This cross- sectional study was carried out on 60 subjects aged between 18 years to 60 years in the department of physiology and in association with department of medicine and department of cardiology, S. P. Medical College and associated group of hospitals, Bikaner. Data was compiled and entered into Microsoft software statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Data was summarised as frequencies, mean and standard deviations. For continuous data the means were compared between cases and controls using unpaired or independent t test; and for nominal data, chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests were applied to compare frequency distribution between cases and controls to see the statistical significance.

Results The present study shows statistically insignificant change in serum calcium and serum magnesium levels in newly detected hypertensive patients when compared to normotensive controls.

Conclusions In view of statistically insignificant change in serum calcium and magnesium levels in newly detected hypertensive patients in our study, further studies with a large sample size and more uniform population are required to find if any significant association exists between these cations and hypertension.