Published Online
on June 16, 2009

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2009

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Original Article

Serum Selenium Concentrations and Hypertension in the US Population

Martin Laclaustra, MD, PhD; Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD; Saverio Stranges, MD, PhD; Jose M. Ordovas, PhD and Eliseo Guallar, MD, DrPH

From the Department of Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Population Genetics (M.L., E.G.), Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain; the Department of Epidemiology and Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research (M.L., A.N.-A., E.G.) and the Department of Environmental Health Sciences (A.N.-A.), Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md; the The Health Sciences Research Institute (S.S.), University of Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK; and the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory (J.M.O.), JM-USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Mass.

Correspondence to Eliseo Guallar, MD, DrPH, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2024 E Monument St, Room 2-639, Baltimore, MD 21205. E-mail eguallar{at}jhsph.edu

Background: Selenium is an antioxidant micronutrient with potential interest for cardiovascular disease prevention. Few studies have evaluated the association between selenium and hypertension, with inconsistent findings. We explored the relationship of serum selenium concentrations with blood pressure and hypertension in a representative sample of the US population.

Methods and Results: We undertook a cross-sectional analysis of 2638 adults 40 years old who participated in the 2003 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Serum selenium was measured by inductively coupled plasma-dynamic reaction cell-mass spectrometry. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure 140/90 mm Hg or current use of antihypertensive medication. Mean serum selenium was 137.1 µg/L. The multivariable adjusted differences (95% CIs) in blood pressure levels comparing the highest (150 µg/L) to the lowest (<122 µg/L) quintile of serum selenium were 4.3 (1.3 to 7.4), 1.6 (–0.5 to 3.7), and 2.8 (0.8 to 4.7) mm Hg for systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressure, respectively. The corresponding odds ratio for hypertension was 1.73 (1.18 to 2.53). In spline regression models, blood pressure levels and the prevalence of hypertension increased with increasing selenium concentrations up to 160 µg/L.

Conclusions: High serum selenium concentrations were associated with higher prevalence of hypertension. These findings call for a thorough evaluation of the risks and benefits associated with high selenium status in the United States.

Key Words: selenium • blood pressure • hypertension • nutrition surveys

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