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Association Between Selenium Level in Blood and Glycolipid Metabolism in Residents of Enshi Prefecture, China

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Abstract

The present study aimed to detect selenium (Se) levels in the blood of Enshi Prefecture residents in China and investigate the relationship between blood Se levels and glucose or lipid metabolism disorder. A cross-sectional study was conducted, and 1876 subjects were selected through cluster random sampling from Enshi Prefecture using a questionnaire survey, physical examinations, and biochemical blood tests. The mean blood Se level in the overall population was 0.128 ± 0.178 μg/mL. Se exhibits a “U”-shaped curve on the serum fasting plasma glucose (FPG) of the total samples, that is, when the blood Se is more than 0.131 μg/mL or less than 0.062 μg/mL, the FPG increases significantly. A significant negative correlation was demonstrated between the FPG levels of the 4–17-year-old age group and different blood Se levels (P < 0.001). No significant correlation was demonstrated between the serum triglyceride (TG) and blood Se levels. However, a positive correlation was demonstrated between blood Se and serum total cholesterol (TC) levels and the incidence of high cholesterol in the total population (P < 0.001). The odds ratio and related 95% confidence interval for the incidence of high cholesterol between the highest (≥ 0.133 μg/mL) and lowest blood Se (< 0.064 μg/mL) levels was 2.64 and 1.48–4.79, respectively. The results of this study are very important for the safety scope and risk-benefit assessment of Se in the human; however, further investigation with a larger sample size is required.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of Sara Monteiro Piresa (National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark) for helpful advice and comments on reviewing this article. This work was supported by China Food Safety Talent Competency Development Initiative: CFSA 523 Program.

Availability of Data and Material

The data used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code Availability

This manuscript has been approved by all authors for Code of Publication.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Hubei Science and Technology Support Program projects (2014BKB064).

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Author notes

  1. Haiqin Fang, Xiaohong He and Yingyu Wu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, 100021, China

    Haiqin Fang, Mingyuan Zhang, Feng Pan & Aidong Liu

  2. Enshi Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Enshi, 445000, Hubei, China

    Xiaohong He & Siqiang Chen

  3. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, United States, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Yingyu Wu

  4. School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Mingyuan Zhang

  5. School of Public Health, Huazhong, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    Jiao Huang

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  1. Haiqin Fang
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Contributions

Aidong Liu contributed to the conception of the study. Haiqin Fang and Yingyu Wu performed the data analyses and wrote the manuscript.Xiaohong He and Siqiang Chen contributed significantly to population survey and experimental studies. Mingyuan Zhang contributed to analysis and manuscript preparation. Feng Pan, Jiao Huang and Mingyuan Zhang performed the analysis with constructive discussions.

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Correspondence to Aidong Liu.

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This study was authorized by The Enshi Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Fang, H., He, X., Wu, Y. et al. Association Between Selenium Level in Blood and Glycolipid Metabolism in Residents of Enshi Prefecture, China. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 2456–2466 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02372-9

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