Research article Topical Sections

Serum hypomagnesemia is associated with febrile seizures in young children

  • Received: 09 November 2022 Revised: 21 December 2022 Accepted: 22 December 2022 Published: 26 December 2022
  • Background 

    Febrile seizures (FS) frequently manifest in children below 5 years of age. Although the exact etiology is still unknown, genetic predisposition, changes in neurotransmitter levels, and serum electrolyte imbalance are some of the known risk factors. This study examined the possible association between serum magnesium levels in children with FS compared to febrile children without seizures.

    Methods 

    A retrospective case-control study was conducted from February 2019 to January 2021, recruiting 230 age and gender-matched cases and controls (115 each). Extracted data were analyzed using SPSS using an independent student's t-test, Chi-square test, and Pearson's correlation analysis.

    Results 

    The mean serum magnesium levels were 0.93 ± 0.129 vs 0.97 ± 0.0961; p < 0.001, between cases and controls respectively. Similarly, hypomagnesemia (<0.85 mmol/L) was detected in 26.1% and 8.7% of the cases and controls, respectively; p < 0.001. A significant negative correlation was found between serum magnesium levels and the occurrence of febrile seizures; r = [−0.169], p < 0.05.

    Conclusion 

    Serum magnesium was significantly low in febrile children with seizures compared to those without, and hypomagnesemia was associated with the occurrence of febrile seizures. These results portray hypomagnesemia as a possible risk factor for febrile seizure, and so should be validated in future large cohort studies so that guidelines are set for proper management of these children.

    Citation: Zakaria Ahmed Mohamed, Chunjiao Tang, Erick Thokerunga, Ali Omar Jimale, Jingyi Fan. Serum hypomagnesemia is associated with febrile seizures in young children[J]. AIMS Neuroscience, 2022, 9(4): 551-558. doi: 10.3934/Neuroscience.2022032

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  • Background 

    Febrile seizures (FS) frequently manifest in children below 5 years of age. Although the exact etiology is still unknown, genetic predisposition, changes in neurotransmitter levels, and serum electrolyte imbalance are some of the known risk factors. This study examined the possible association between serum magnesium levels in children with FS compared to febrile children without seizures.

    Methods 

    A retrospective case-control study was conducted from February 2019 to January 2021, recruiting 230 age and gender-matched cases and controls (115 each). Extracted data were analyzed using SPSS using an independent student's t-test, Chi-square test, and Pearson's correlation analysis.

    Results 

    The mean serum magnesium levels were 0.93 ± 0.129 vs 0.97 ± 0.0961; p < 0.001, between cases and controls respectively. Similarly, hypomagnesemia (<0.85 mmol/L) was detected in 26.1% and 8.7% of the cases and controls, respectively; p < 0.001. A significant negative correlation was found between serum magnesium levels and the occurrence of febrile seizures; r = [−0.169], p < 0.05.

    Conclusion 

    Serum magnesium was significantly low in febrile children with seizures compared to those without, and hypomagnesemia was associated with the occurrence of febrile seizures. These results portray hypomagnesemia as a possible risk factor for febrile seizure, and so should be validated in future large cohort studies so that guidelines are set for proper management of these children.



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    Acknowledgments



    Not applicable.

    Ethics approval and consent to participate



    This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. Parents of all eligible children gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study. The confidentiality of the patients was ensured throughout the study.

    Funding



    There is no funding/support.

    Availability of data and materials



    Not applicable.

    Conflict of interest



    The authors have no relevant financial and or non-financial interest to disclose.

    Authors' contribution



    The authors Z.A.M and E.T conducted data analysis and manuscript drafting. C.T. conducted data collection and A.O.J reviewed the manuscript. J.F conceived the study and supervised the entire process of study. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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