Supplemental Material for:Serum Element Concentrations in Bipolar Disorder: A Case-Control Analysis by ICP-MS

However, this association has not been thoroughly investigated in bipolar disorder (BD) and existing evidence remains inconsistent. This pilot study aimed to assess the relationship between the serum concentrations of essential trace elements (ETE) alkali metals (AM), alkaline earth metals (AEM) and non-essential elements in an euthymic sample of BD and healthy controls (HC) in order to identify both group- and sex-specific differences.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Methods</p><p dir="ltr">Serum levels of fourteen elements were quantified using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) in eleven euthymic patients with BD and nine HC.

Both groups showed no statistical significance regarding age, sex and BMI.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Results</p><p dir="ltr">Serum Magnesium levels (Mg:<i> t(18)</i> = 2.441, p = .025)<i> </i>were significantly elevated in individuals with <a href="" target="_blank">BD (24.5 ± 1.7 mg L^-1) compared to HC (22.9 ± 1.1 mg L^-1). </a>In addition, serum copper (Cu) concentrations were significantly higher in female participants relative to males (Cu:<i> t(18) </i>= 2.329, <i>p</i> = .032), independent of diagnostic group.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Conclusion</p><p dir="ltr">This pilot study observed elevated serum Mg concentrations in euthymic BD patients.