Estimation of Serum Magnesium Levels and Its Correlation with Asthma Control Score in Mild Persistent Asthma among Children Aged 6–14 Years

Abstract

Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways. There are multiple factors affecting symptom control in asthma and serum magnesium is one of the factors thought to influence disease control in childhood asthma. Aims and Objectives: To estimate the serum magnesium levels in mild persistent asthma patients aged 6 to 14 years. To correlate serum magnesium levels with Asthma control score (ACT) of mild persistent asthma patients. To correlate serum magnesium levels with peaked expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in mild persistent asthma patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a hospital setting on newly diagnosed cases of mild persistent asthma and serum magnesium was assessed. The normal range of serum Mg levels is considered to be 1.5-to-2.0 mg/dl in children. The ACT score provided a snapshot of how well asthma has been controlled in the last four weeks, giving a simple score out of 25. A PEFR monitor was used to perform the PEFR test. The serum magnesium levels were correlated with PEFR and ACT. Results: Out of 275 cases studied, 247 (89.8%) had serum magnesium levels ≥1.5 mg/dl and 28 (10.2%) had serum magnesium levels <1.5 mg/dl. It was seen that children with serum magnesium levels ≥1.5 mg/dl have better asthma control than children with serum magnesium levels <1.5 mg/dl. (P-value = 0.001). Children with serum magnesium levels of ≥1.5 mg/dl had better PEFR than children with serum magnesium levels of <1.5 mg/dl. Conclusion: It was concluded that low serum magnesium levels were found in mild persistent asthmatic patients. Serum magnesium levels (<1.5 mg/dl) were statistically significantly lower in mild persistent asthmatic patients.

Keywords

• asthma
• asthma control
• magnesium
• persistent