Relatively high mortality risk in elderly Swedish subjects with low selenium status

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Gerontology
• Public Health

Background:

• Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element with documented health benefits.
• Despite nutritional campaigns, selenium intake remains low in Sweden, impacting public health.
• The specific effects of low selenium status on mortality in the elderly are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine serum selenium levels in an elderly Swedish population.
• To investigate the association between low selenium status and mortality risk in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• An observational study involving 668 elderly participants.
• Follow-up for 6.8 years with repeated selenium measurements in a subset.
• Clinical assessments including echocardiography, ECG, and serum selenium levels; mortality data analyzed using Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazard ratios.

Main Results:

• The mean serum selenium level was 67.1 μg/l, indicating low selenium intake.
• Individuals in the lowest quartile of serum selenium showed a 43% increased risk of all-cause mortality and a 56% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.
• These findings were adjusted for confounding factors and not influenced by inflammatory effects.

Conclusions:

• The mean serum selenium concentration in elderly Swedes is below optimal levels for selenoprotein enzyme function.
• Low selenium status is associated with increased mortality risk in this population.
• Modest selenium supplementation may be beneficial for improving the health of the Swedish population.