The association between selenium and bone health: a meta-analysis

Abstract

AimsPrevious studies have suggested that selenium as a trace element is involved in bone health, but findings related to the specific effect of selenium on bone health remain inconclusive. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis by including all the relevant studies to elucidate the association between selenium status (dietary intake or serum selenium) and bone health indicators (bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis (OP), or fracture).MethodsPubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to retrieve relevant articles published before 15 November 2022. Studies focusing on the correlation between selenium and BMD, OP, or fracture were included. Effect sizes included regression coefficient (β), weighted mean difference (WMD), and odds ratio (OR). According to heterogeneity, the fixed-effect or random-effect model was used to assess the association between selenium and bone health.ResultsFrom 748 non-duplicate publications, 19 studies were included. We found a significantly positive association between dietary selenium intake (β = 0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00 to 0.07, p = 0.029) as well as serum selenium (β = 0.13, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.26, p = 0.046) and BMD. Consistently, those with higher selenium intake had a lower risk of OP (OR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.72, p = 0.001), and patients with OP had a significantly lower level of serum selenium than healthy controls (WMD = -2.01, 95% CI -3.91 to -0.12, p = 0.037). High dietary selenium intake was associated with a lower risk of hip fracture (OR = 0.44, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.52, p < 0.001).ConclusionSelenium was positively associated with BMD and inversely associated with OP; dietary selenium intake was negatively associated with hip fracture. The causality and therapeutic effect of selenium on OP needs to be investigated in future studies.Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2023;12(7):423–432.

Causal Effect of Selenium Levels on Osteoporosis: A Mendelian Randomization Study

“…Similarly, Walsh et al found that Se intake has no significant impact on bone improvement in postmenopausal women [54]. In contrast, Xie et al, reported that Se supplementation enhanced BMD and reduced the risk of OP [55], and a study by Park et al found that low BMD was associated with decreased hair Se levels [56]. However, Xue et al found that moderate Se intake increased BMD, whereas excessive intake reduced BMD [57].…”

Effects of selenium and iodine on Kashin-Beck disease: an updated review

“…The pathogenesis of bone remodelling disorders in KBD patients is attributed to an imbalance between osteoblast-mediated bone formation and osteoclast-mediated bone resorption (74). The relationships between Se and the bone turnover rate and bone mineral density have been established by various studies (75)(76)(77). Inadequate Se levels can impede growth and alter bone metabolism, decreasing the bone turnover rate and bone mineral density (78).…”

The Synthesis and Characterization of Selenium-Doped Bioglass

“…Furthermore, studies have suggested that selenium supplementation may enhance the bone mineral density and improve bone quality, thereby facilitating bone regeneration and fracture healing [7]. Despite these advancements, there remains a dearth of literature on the production of selenium-incorporated bioactive glass.…”