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Circulating Selenium Level Was Positively Related to Visceral Adiposity Index with a Non-linear Trend: a Nationwide Study of the General Population

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Abstract

Selenium plays a role in obesity. However, whether circulating selenium levels are related to the visceral adiposity index (VAI), an indicator of obesity, is still unknown. Based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2018, data from 12,777 individuals aged ≥ 20 years were analyzed to clarify this question. In fully adjusted models of multivariate regression analysis, natural logarithm (Ln) selenium was positively related to Ln VAI (β = 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27, 0.55; P < 0.001). Compared with the lowest quartile of Ln selenium, the highest quartile was also positively associated with Ln VAI (β = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.11, 0.21; P < 0.001). Moreover, we found that this positive connection was non-linear. When Ln selenium was less than the inflection point, Ln selenium was positively related to Ln VAI (β = 0.41; 95% CI, 0.31, 0.52; P < 0.001). However, when Ln selenium was greater than or equal to the inflection point, Ln selenium was not significantly related to Ln VAI (β = −0.15; 95% CI, −0.56, 0.25; P = 0.455). In subgroup analysis, significant interactions were observed with age and sex (P for interaction < 0.05). Stronger interactions were observed among middle-aged participants (β = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.31, 0.98; P = 0.002) and males (β = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.43, 0.79; P < 0.001). Overall, circulating selenium levels were positively related to VAI, with a non-linear trend. Prospective studies and interventional experiments are necessary to verify the possible mechanisms.

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Data Availability

The NHANES database is publicly available.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the NHANES for its contribution to public health.

Funding

The study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFF0501403), Key R&D Program of Shandong Province (ZR2020QH023, 2021SFGC0503, 2021ZDSYS05, 2020ZLYS05), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (82000411, 82030051).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory for Innovation and Transformation of Luobing Theory, The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Remodeling and Function Research, Chinese Ministry of Education, Chinese National Health Commission and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Department of Cardiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Kunsheng Zhao, Yun Zhang & Wenhai Sui

  2. Central Laboratory, Institute of Medical Sciences, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Jue Wang

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  1. Kunsheng Zhao
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  2. Jue Wang
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Contributions

YZ and WS directed the research and writing. JW evaluated the design proposal. KZ completed the statistical analysis, prepared charts, and wrote the manuscript. The submitted version was reviewed, modified, and approved by all authors.

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Correspondence to Yun Zhang or Wenhai Sui.

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The study was approved by the NCHS Ethics Review Board. The NHANES database is publicly available; therefore, our study was exempt from ethical review.

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Zhao, K., Wang, J., Zhang, Y. et al. Circulating Selenium Level Was Positively Related to Visceral Adiposity Index with a Non-linear Trend: a Nationwide Study of the General Population. Biol Trace Elem Res 202, 2921–2930 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03885-9

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