Gender Differences with Dose⁻Response Relationship between Serum Selenium Levels and Metabolic Syndrome-A Case-Control Study.

Chia-Wen Lu, Hao-Hsiang Chang, Kuen-Cheh Yang, Chien-Hsieh Chiang, Chien-An Yao, Kuo-Chin Huang

Journal: Nutrients 2019;11(2):477

PMID: 30813489

Plain Language Summary

Selenium (Se) is an antioxidative micronutrient that activates Se-containing proteins known as selenoproteins. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between serum Se level and metabolic syndrome including each metabolic factor. A secondary aim was to find a correlation between obesity, insulin resistance, and gender. The study is a case control study based on the comparison of Se levels between patients with and without metabolic syndrome. The study enrolled a total of 1165 ambulatory males or females, aged more than 40 years. Results showed a positive association between serum Se level and the risk of metabolic syndrome. Also, the serum Se concentration was positively associated with a number of metabolic factors following a dose–response relationship. Authors conclude that gender stratification analyses clearly highlighted the gender differences in insulin resistance, adiposity, and lipid metabolism.

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the association between selenium and metabolic syndrome. This study aimed to explore the associations between the serum selenium level and metabolic syndrome as well as examining each metabolic factor. In this case-control study, the participants were 1165 adults aged ≥40 (65.8 ± 10.0) years. Serum selenium was measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The associations between serum selenium and metabolic syndrome were examined by multivariate logistic regression analyses. The least square means were computed by general linear models to compare the serum selenium levels in relation to the number of metabolic factors. The mean serum selenium concentration was 96.34 ± 25.90 μg/L, and it was positively correlated with waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, fasting glucose, and homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in women, but it was only correlated with fasting glucose and HOMA-IR in men. After adjustment, the odds ratios (ORs) of having metabolic syndrome increased with the selenium quartile groups ( for trend: <0.05), especially in women. The study demonstrated that the serum selenium levels were positively associated with metabolic syndrome following a non-linear dose⁻response trend. Selenium concentration was positively associated with insulin resistance in men and women, but it was associated with adiposity and lipid metabolism in women. The mechanism behind this warrants further confirmation.

Address: Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital Bei-Hu Branch, Taipei 10800, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10002, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10051, Taiwan. [email protected].; Department of Family Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital Bei-Hu Branch, Taipei 10800, Taiwan. [email protected].

DOI: 10.3390/nu11020477