Association of Serum Selenium, Zinc and Magnesium Levels with Glycaemic Indices and Insulin Resistance in Pre-diabetes: a Cross-Sectional Study from South India

Abstract

A growing understanding of antioxidant mechanisms and insulin-like actions of trace elements selenium and zinc has rekindled researchers' interest towards their role in diabetes mellitus, nutritional management of which concentrates predominantly on macronutrient intake. However, selenium studies limiting largely to diabetes have yielded inconsistent results with sparse knowledge in the pre-diabetes population. This hospital-based cross-sectional study screened 300 people who came to the institutional hospital laboratory with fasting plasma glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin requisition over a period of 6 months. Thirty-five pre-diabetes subjects aged 25-45 years and 35 age-matched healthy controls were selected as per inclusion criteria and clinical history. Serum selenium was estimated by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, zinc and magnesium by colorimetric end-point methods and insulin by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and insulin resistance was calculated using a homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) 2 calculator. Data analysis was done using SPSS ver. 16 employing an independent sample t test for intergroup comparison of means and Pearson's correlation for correlation analysis. Serum mineral levels in the pre-diabetes group (selenium 63.01 ± 17.6 μg/L, zinc 55.78 ± 13.49 μg/dL, magnesium 1.37 ± 0.38 mg/dL) were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in comparison to the healthy controls (selenium 90.98 ± 15.81 μg/L, zinc 94.53 ± 15.41 μg/dL, magnesium 2.12 ± 0.22 mg/dL). A significant negative correlation was seen with glycaemic indices and insulin resistance. This study conducted in pre-diabetes subjects highlights a considerable deficiency of serum selenium, zinc and magnesium observed at a much earlier pre-clinical phase. This coupled with the evidence of a strong inverse association with glycaemic indices and insulin resistance postulates the role of mineral alterations in the pathophysiology of hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance.

Serum Selenium Status in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Control Group

“…These results are in accordance with some previous studies (Rajpathak, Rimm, Morris, & Hu, 2005;Kilinc, Guven, Ezer, Ertas, & Coskun, 2008;Yadav et al, 2016;Ubajaka et al, 2015). In a study (Kruse-Jarres & Rukgauer, 2000), serum levels of selenium in both diabetics and non-diabetics control group was measured in three components of plasma, erythrocytes and complete blood that in all three components, selenium concentration was lower in the diabetic group and this decrease is more clearly shown in erythrocytes .…”

Cluster and Factor Analysis of Elements in Serum and Urine of Diabetic Patients with Peripheral Neuropathy and Healthy People

“…Similarly, factor analysis stated serum Cr, Se, and Fe were all correlated with factor 1, indicating that the three elements do relate to each other under both healthy and diseased status. That might be due to their common effects on insulin sensitivity [66][67][68] and oxidative stress [14,69]. Serum Mg was strongly associated with factor 2 in the DPN group comparing to its relationship with factor 3 in control.…”

The Central Role of Biometals Maintains Oxidative Balance in the Context of Metabolic and Neurodegenerative Disorders

“…Yadav and colleagues have observed, in addition to reduced levels of Zn 2+ and Mg 2+ , a reduction in Se 2+ serum levels in insulin-resistant individuals compared with those in healthy controls [105]. Serum concentrations of Se 2+ together with Zn 2+ are, according to Gouaref and colleagues, significantly decreased in patients suffering from essential hypertension and T2DM.…”