Osteoporosis: Could selenium reduce risk?

Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 28th November, 2019) A recent study from China finds an association between dietary intake of selenium and osteoporosis risk. Although the authors cannot determine whether the link is causal, they call for more investigation.

Throughout life, the body continuously breaks down bone, reabsorbs it, and remakes it. In osteoporosis, the reforming of bone cannot keep up with the rate of bone breakdown.This process means that, over time, bones become weaker and more prone to fracture.

Osteoporosis predominantly affects older adults, and, globally, an estimated 200 millionTrusted Source people have osteoporosis.The condition affects roughly 1 in 3 females over 50 years of age, while 1 in 5 males will have fractures that osteoporosis relates to during their lifetime.

There are some risk factors for osteoporosis that people cannot avoid, such as advancing age and sex. But experts have also identified some modifiable risk factors, for instance, smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol increase the risk.

Scientists also believe that dietary factors might play a part. To date, most research looking at nutrition and osteoporosis has concentrated on calciumTrusted Source because of its pivotal role in bone health.

What is selenium?Selenium is a trace mineral that is essential for human health.

It plays a part in many systems of the body and is present in a wide range of foods, including fish, shellfish, red meat, grains, eggs, chicken, liver, and garlic.

Although a handful of earlier studies have looked at selenium's impact on osteoporosis, the evidence has not been conclusive.To address this gap in our knowledge, the latest researchers took data from 6,267 participants who visited the Department of Health Examination Centre of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, China.

Selenium and osteoporosisOverall, osteoporosis was present in 9.6% of participants 2.3% in males and 19.7% in females. Using the questionnaire data, the scientists split the participants into four groups, which they ranked for the highest to the lowest selenium intake.

As they expected, individuals with the lowest levels of dietary selenium had the highest risk of developing osteoporosis. The authors observed a dose response relationship; in other words, selenium intake had a negative correlation with osteoporosis risk the more an individual consumed, the lower their risk.

Even after controlling for factors such as age, gender, and BMI, the relationship was still significant; it also held true for both males and females. The authors conclude: