Are Obese Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder More Likely to Be Selenium Deficient? Research Findings on Pre- and Post-Pubertal Children

Abstract

Selenium is involved in many metabolic pathways that are critical for life. Information concerning the metabolic effects of selenium in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obesity is still conflicting and incomplete. The pre- and post-pubertal selenium profiles of patients with ASD and obesity have not yet been investigated. The goal of the study was to examine selenium content before and after puberty in euthyroid children diagnosed with ASD, compared to age-matched neurotypical controls, with respect to overweight or obesity as a co-existing pathology. Serum, toenail, and 24h urine selenium levels were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in 287 prepubertal children (mean age 8.09 years), divided into groups: ASD with overweight/obesity (ASD+/Ob+); ASD without overweight/obesity (ASD+/Ob−); non-ASD with overweight/obesity (ASD−/Ob+); and non-ASD without overweight/obesity (ASD−/Ob−). The assessment was repeated in 258 of the children after puberty (mean age 14.26 years).The lowest serum (p < 0.001), urine (p < 0.001) and toenail (p < 0.001) selenium levels before and after puberty were observed in ASD+/Ob+ patients, and the highest in ASD−/Ob−. There were no differences in serum/toenail selenium levels between ASD+/Ob− and ASD−/Ob+ groups. The presence of ASD was associatedwith lower serum (p < 0.001) and toenail (p < 0.001) selenium in BMI-matched groups. In neurotypical patients, post-pubertal serum selenium levels were lower (p < 0.001) than pre-pubertal levels. In the multiple linear regression analyses, selenium levels showed inverse relationships with BMI (p < 0.001) and male gender (p < 0.001), irrespective of the sample type. The serum (p = 0.002) and toenail (p < 0.001) selenium levels were inversely associated with the presence of ASD. ASD, obesity/overweight, and male gender have independent impacts on selenium levels in children. Puberty may affect selenium content in neurotypical children of both genders, but not in ASD patients.

Association between Selenium Status and Chronic Kidney Disease in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Based on CHNS Data

“…This mechanism may also have a positive influence on the protective effect of selenium on CKD. This may not be the case in obese people because they suffer from high levels of oxidative stress [46] often accompanied by multiple metabolic diseases (including obesity itself [47]), which are strongly correlated with the selenium levels in the human body [48,49]. The results found in our study in our disease subgroups supported this view.…”

Evaluation of Zn, Cu, and Se Levels in the North American Autism Spectrum Disorder Population

“…This study also identified a correlation between BMI and Se levels within males. This is consistent with previous findings in older children; a negative correlation has been seen between Se levels and overweight or obese patients, particularly those with an ASD diagnosis ( Blazewicz et al, 2020 ). The underlying mechanism behind this is not clear, though suggestions have been made that food selectivity is higher in children with ASD, therefore Se deficiency may be the result of differences in food consumption ( No Author List, 2020 ).…”

Juvenile Selenium Deficiency Impairs Cognition, Sensorimotor Gating, and Energy Homeostasis in Mice

“…For both schizophrenia (11,32,33) and autism (12,34,35), reduced Se levels have been chronicled in the literature, albeit there are many exceptions (36)(37)(38), and it is unclear whether this represents a cause or consequence of these conditions. Of particular significance to our results is a recent report examining the Se status of 287 Polish children, which were divided into four groups, corresponding to: (1) autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with obesity, (2) ASD without obesity, (3) non-ASD with obesity, and (4) non-ASD without obesity (12). Observed Se levels were lowest in ASD patients with obesity and highest in non-ASD patients without obesity, with differences between groups being highly significant (p < 0.001) for serum, urine, toenail samples.…”

“…Common symptoms associated with Se-deficiency include hypothyroidism, cardiomyopathy, compromised immunity, fatigue, and cognitive deficits (8)(9)(10). Also, altered serum Se levels have been documented in both autism and schizophrenia (11,12), and it is hypothesized that redox imbalance during neurodevelopment increases risk for these neuropsychiatric conditions (13,14).…”