Premium
Age and gender changes in calcium and magnesium metabolism
Author(s) -
Fordyce April,
Gouliouk Vasily,
Henkin Robert
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.768.6
Changes in calcium and magnesium in various biological fluids related to age and gender have been reported in the past but these changes have been variable. To describe these changes in detail we measured concentrations of calcium and magnesium in blood plasma, 24h collections of urine and saliva and in magnesium in erythrocytes in a controlled group of 253 subjects, 150 women and 103 men, over an age range from 6‐91y using flame aspiration atomic absorption spectrophotometry. There were complex changes in age in each moiety in each biological fluid; urinary calcium tended to decrease with age, saliva calcium tended to increase with age and saliva magnesium decreased with age. Post menopausal women had higher levels of calcium in plasma, saliva and urine than premenopausal women but these increases were not statistically significant. There were no significant gender differences in calcium metabolism. However, saliva magnesium was significantly higher in women than in men and urinary magnesium significantly higher in men than in women. These results indicate changes in both calcium and magnesium metabolism occur with both age and gender. These changes relate to the physiology and pathology of both calcium and magnesium and may influence interpretation of levels of these two moieties in human metabolism and in disease.