Selenium and health-related quality of life in menopausal women

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether there is a relation between serum selenium levels and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in overweight and obese postmenopausal women.

A cross-sectional study was carried out in 104 overweight and obese postmenopausal women attending a gynaecological clinic for their annual gynaecological examination.

Age, anthropometric parameters, educational level, smoking habits, serum glucose, insulin, lipid profile, C-reactive protein, folic acid, vitamin B12, homocysteine and selenium levels were determined, and the Cervantes Scale was used to evaluate HRQoL.

Serum selenium mean value levels were similar in the different groups of HRQoL and there were no differences in the four domains of the Cervantes Scale. When women were classified according to serum selenium tertiles, higher levels of serum cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and triglycerides were found in women in the lowest serum selenium tertile.

In overweight and obese postmenopausal women, serum selenium level is not related to HRQoL but higher levels of cholesterol, LDLc and triglyceride values were detected in women in the lowest serum selenium tertile.