The prevalence of hypomagnesaemia among college students and its significant association with high BMI

This study intends to explore the widespread nature of hypomagnesaemia among college students at Jazan University and test possible link with some anthropometric attributes like their ages, height, weight & body mass index (BMI). A total of 134 student volunteers had participated in this study aged between 18 and 24 years. The research was carried out at college of applied medical sciences at Jazan University, Jazan province, southern-west Saudi Arabia, between November 2023 and January 2024. Blood sample were collected from all participants and subjected to serum magnesium analysis based on a colorimetric method. The frequency of hypomagnesaemia cases were 18 (13.4%) and hypermagnesemia was 6 (4.5%). Serum magnesium level showed a statistically significant negative correlational relationship with BMI (Pearson’s coefficient r=-0.201; p-value= 0.019). Furthermore, obese subjects (BMI>30) showed lower levels of serum magnesium compared to normal BMI category (BMI=18-25) that was statistically significant; p-value=0.0023. The research provides the prevalence of hypomagnesaemia in college student’s population. The study also reported a direct link between obesity and low serum magnesium levels. Additional analysis with a greater sample size is required to support these discoveries.