Selenium concentration is associated with occurrence and diagnosis of three cardiovascular diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Selenium (Se) is a vital trace element playing its biological functions through selenoprotein, which has been implicated in various physiological and pathological processes. A growing number of studies indicate that low Se increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This meta-analysis aimed to compare and analyze differences in Se levels between patients with heart failure (HF), myocardial infarction (MI), coronary heart disease (CHD), and healthy people. This will provide ideas with the potential to improve clinical intervention and prevention of CVDs.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Chinese Biomedical databases were systematically searched for relevant publications until November 20, 2020. The following combination keywords were used: "(heart failure disease OR myocardial infarction OR coronary heart disease) AND (selenium OR Se)". The identified studies were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria and extracted data were analyzed using RevMan5.3 and State 16.0 software.

Results: A total of 49 eligible studies (including 61 cohorts) were obtained. Results of the meta-analysis showed that there was a significant difference in Se levels between HF, MI, CHD patients and healthy people. The standard mean difference (SMD) level of Se in HF patients [SMD = -0.98, 95 % CI (-1.34, -0.62)], MI patients [MI: SMD = -3.46, 95 % CI (-4.43, -2.85)], and CHD patients [CHD: SMD = -0.47, 95 % CI (-0.64, -0.28)] were all significantly lower compared to healthy controls. Analysis of the correlation between Se level and publication year showed that SMD of Se levels in HF and controls was positively correlated with time. Se level was found to be a good diagnostic marker of MI (AUC = 0.7107, P = 0.0167, Sensitivity = 77.27 %, Specificity = 72.73 %).

Conclusions: This meta-analysis shows that Se levels in patients with HF, MI, and CHD are generally lower compared with healthy controls. However, due to the small number of included studies, further studies are needed to confirm the present results.

Keywords: Coronary heart disease; Heart failure; Meta-analysis; Myocardial infarction; Selenium levels.