Selenium supplements linked with diabetes
Taking selenium supplements may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to research published
online in the Annals of
Internal Medicine (10 July 2007). Animal studies had
suggested that the trace element might improve glucose metabolism and
prevent
type 2 diabetes.
The latest study involved 1,202 people who live in a low dietary selenium
area (average intake 90µg/day) of eastern US and were randomised
to receive 200µg/day of selenium or placebo. The trial was primarily
designed to evaluate the efficacy of selenium in cancer prevention.
After an average follow-up of 7.7 years, type 2 diabetes was self-reported
by 58 people in the selenium group and 39 in the placebo group (hazard
ratio 1.55, 95 per cent confidence interval 1.03–2.33; P=0.03).
Participants with higher baseline selenium levels were at higher risk
of developing diabetes (top third with selenium >121.6ng/ml: HR 2.70,
1.30–5.61; P=0.008).
One of the study authors, Saverio Stranges, University at Buffalo, New
York, said the findings are interesting, but should be considered cautiously. “In
the general population, very few people, if any, take selenium supplements
only, every day, for nearly eight years, so we can’t be sure that
these findings apply to the public at large.”
The author of an accompanying
editorial comments that, until trials show
that selenium supplementation does not cause diabetes or establish that
the potential risk for diabetes is outweighed by yet unproven health
benefits, people with diets that provide the recommended dietary allowance
for
selenium (55µg/day) should avoid selenium supplements.
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