Increasing levels of magnesium in blood are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Magnesium supplementation may reduce the progression of vascular calcification in CKD. The diurnal pattern and effect of fasting on magnesium in blood and urine in CKD is unknown, and knowledge of this may influence management of magnesium supplementation.

We included ten patients with CKD stage four without diabetes mellitus and ten healthy controls. Participants were admitted to our hospital ward for a 24-h study period. Blood and urine samples were collected in a nonfasting state at 8 o'clock in the morning and every third hour hereafter until the final samples in a fasting state at 8 o'clock the following morning.

We found no diurnal variation in plasma magnesium (p = 0.097) in either group, but a significant diurnal variation in urinary excretion of magnesium (p = 0.044) in both CKD and healthy controls with no significant interaction between the two groups, and thus no suggestion that CKD affects diurnal variation of plasma magnesium or urinary magnesium excretion. The levels of plasma magnesium were not significantly different in fasting and non-fasting conditions.

Magnesium in plasma does not display a significant diurnal variation and can be measured at any time of day and in both fasting and non-fasting conditions. Urinary magnesium excretion displays diurnal variation, which is likely related to increased uptake of magnesium during meals and helps maintain a stable concentration of magnesium in blood.