Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jul;2(4):369-76.
doi: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.108.831552. Epub 2009 Jun 16.

Serum selenium concentrations and hypertension in the US Population

Martin Laclaustra  1 , Ana Navas-Acien, Saverio Stranges, Jose M Ordovas, Eliseo Guallar
Affiliations

Serum selenium concentrations and hypertension in the US Population

Martin Laclaustra et al. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2009 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Selenium is an antioxidant micronutrient with potential interest for cardiovascular disease prevention. Few studies have evaluated the association between selenium and hypertension, with inconsistent findings. We explored the relationship of serum selenium concentrations with blood pressure and hypertension in a representative sample of the US population.

Methods and results: We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of 2638 adults > or =40 years old who participated in the 2003 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Serum selenium was measured by inductively coupled plasma-dynamic reaction cell-mass spectrometry. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure > or =140/90 mm Hg or current use of antihypertensive medication. Mean serum selenium was 137.1 microg/L. The multivariable adjusted differences (95% CIs) in blood pressure levels comparing the highest (> or =150 microg/L) to the lowest (<122 microg/L) quintile of serum selenium were 4.3 (1.3 to 7.4), 1.6 (-0.5 to 3.7), and 2.8 (0.8 to 4.7) mm Hg for systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressure, respectively. The corresponding odds ratio for hypertension was 1.73 (1.18 to 2.53). In spline regression models, blood pressure levels and the prevalence of hypertension increased with increasing selenium concentrations up to 160 microg/L.

Conclusions: High serum selenium concentrations were associated with higher prevalence of hypertension. These findings call for a thorough evaluation of the risks and benefits associated with high selenium status in the United States.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures

There are no conflicts of interest regarding the contents of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Adjusted differences (95% confidence intervals) for blood pressure levels by serum selenium concentrations
Serum selenium was modeled as restricted quadratic splines with nodes at the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles. Multivariable linear regression models were adjusted for sex, age (continuous), race / ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Mexican American or other), education (high school or higher vs. less than high school), body mass index (continuous), smoking (never, former, current), cotinine (continuous), menopausal status (yes, no), use of vitamin / mineral supplements (yes, no), and use of antihypertensive medications (yes, no). Blood pressure levels at the 10th percentile (115 µg/L) of the serum selenium distribution were used as reference. The histogram shows the distribution of selenium concentrations in the study population.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for hypertension by serum selenium concentrations
Serum selenium was modeled as restricted quadratic splines with nodes at the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles. The multivariable logistic regression model was adjusted for sex, age (continuous), race / ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Mexican American or other), education (high school or higher vs. less than high school), body mass index (continuous), smoking (never, former, current), cotinine (continuous), menopausal status (yes, no), and use of vitamin / mineral supplements (yes, no). The odds for hypertension at the 10th percentile (115 µg/L) of the serum selenium distribution were used as reference. The histogram shows the distribution of selenium concentrations in the study population.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for hypertension comparing the 90th (160 µg/L) vs. the 10th (115 µg/L) percentiles of the serum selenium distribution
Serum selenium was modeled as restricted quadratic splines with nodes at the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles. Multivariable logistic regression models were adjusted for sex, age (continuous), race / ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Mexican American or other), education (high school or higher vs. less than high school), body mass index (continuous), smoking (never, former, current), cotinine (continuous), menopausal status (yes, no), and use of vitamin / mineral supplements (yes, no). Separate models for every interaction were fitted, including all these covariables but each with interaction terms for the selenium splines and the variable of interest. The size of the square indicates the number of participants in each stratum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ceriello A. Possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Diabetes Care. 2008;31 Suppl 2:S181–S184. - PubMed
    1. Das UN. Nutritional factors in the pathobiology of human essential hypertension. Nutrition. 2001;17:337–346. - PubMed
    1. Nawrot TS, Staessen JA, Roels HA, Den Hond E, Thijs L, Fagard RH, Dominiczak AF, Struijker-Boudier HA. Blood pressure and blood selenium: a cross-sectional and longitudinal population study. Eur Heart J. 2007;28:628–633. - PubMed
    1. Rayman MP. The importance of selenium to human health. Lancet. 2000;356:233–241. - PubMed
    1. Salonen JT, Salonen R, Ihanainen M, Parviainen M, Seppanen R, Kantola M, Seppanen K, Rauramaa R. Blood pressure, dietary fats, and antioxidants. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988;48:1226–1232. - PubMed

Publication types

-