A study of serum magnesium and serum calcium in major depressive disorder

Background: Depression is arguably the epidemic of our time. In one of the reports of the World Health Organization, it was projected that depression and heart disease will be the most common diseases on Earth by 2020. The paper attempts to determine the relationship between the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) and serum magnesium and serum calcium levels. Methodology: The study is based on a sample of 60 subjects?30 healthy normal individuals and 30 indoor and outdoor patients of the Department of Psychiatry of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, who were identified by psychiatrist as having MDD as per the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) criteria. Estimation of the parameters of the study was done by using spectrophotometre (Spectra scan UV 2600). The result values of both the groups were compared by using independent ‘t’ test. Further, the correlation between serum magnesium and serum calcium among individuals of control as well as case groups were carried out by using Pearson’s correlation test. Results: Analysis of data reveals the mean value of serum magnesium among subjects of control group was higher than that of the subjects of the case (before treatment) group while in case of serum calcium, it was the vice versa. Moreover, in both the cases, the differences in mean values were found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The present study shows that alterations in the concentrations of magnesium and calcium may play a role in depressive illnesses and thus, may have a possible role in causing various mood disorders like MDD.