DOC News September 1, 2007
Volume 4 Number 9 p. 15
© 2007 American Diabetes Association
Selenium Offers No Benefit for Diabetes
Supplemental dietary selenium provides no diabetes-prevention
benefit—in fact, it may actually increase the risk of diabetes,
according to recent research.
Some research with animals has indicated that the antioxidant selenium may
help glucose control. To test the theory in humans, researchers examined the
incidence of diabetes in 1,202 people being treated with selenium for an
unrelated dermatologic condition at seven clinics in the eastern U.S.
Half of the participants were randomized to receive a 200 µg daily dose
of selenium as a dietary supplement. The other half received placebo.
Participants were followed up for an average of 7.7 years.
During the follow-up, 58 people in the selenium group developed diabetes,
equal to 12.6 cases per 1,000 person-years, compared with 39 people in the
placebo group, equal to 8.4 cases per 1,000 person-years, so people who took
selenium were 55% more likely to develop diabetes than those on placebo in
this study. In addition, the researchers found an exposure-response
relationship between plasma selenium levels and diabetes: People with the
highest levels of plasma selenium were 2.7 times more likely to develop
diabetes than those with the lowest levels.
"Selenium supplementation does not seem to prevent type 2 diabetes,
and it may increase risk for the disease," the researchers conclude.
Stranges S, Marshall JR, Natarajan R, et al.: Effects of
long-term selenium supplementation on the incidence of type 2 diabetes.
Ann Intern Med 147:217-223, 2007.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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