Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25990689›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2016

Selenium status and cardiovascular diseases: meta-analysis of prospective observational studies and randomized controlled trials.

X Zhang, C Liu, J Guo, Y Song

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
66citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

66 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  9. Biological and mechanistic effects of selenium and zinc in coronary artery bypass surgery: preoperative and postoperative evaluation.Biometals : an international journal on the role of metal ions in biology, biochemistry, and medicine · 2026
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Significance of 8-iso-PGFAmerican heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2026
    Review
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6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

X ZhangDepartment of Epidemiology, Richard M Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
C LiuDepartment of Cardiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
J GuoCentre for the Youth Sport Research and Development, China Institute of Sport Science, Beijing, China.
Y SongDepartment of Epidemiology, Richard M Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesSelenium was thought to have a role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) owing to its antioxidant properties; however, evidence from observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has been inconsistent and controversial. We thus conducted a meta-analysis to assess the discrepancies between observational and randomized trial evidence. SUBJECTS/

methodsWe searched MEDLINE and EMBASE for eligible prospective studies regarding the relationship between selenium and CVD up to 15 December 2013 and finally included 16 prospective observational studies and 16 RCTs. Random effects model was used to estimate the pooled relative risk (RR). Generalized least-squares trend test and restricted cubic spline model were performed to assess a linear and a nonlinear dose-response relationship.

resultsOur meta-analysis of prospective studies showed a nonlinear relationship of CVD risk with blood selenium concentrations across a range of 30-165 μg/l and a significant benefit of CVD within a narrow selenium range of 55-145 μg/l. Our meta-analyses of RCTs showed that oral selenium supplements (median dose: 200 μg/day) for 2 weeks to 144 months significantly raised the blood selenium concentrations by 56.4 μg/l (95% confidence interval (CI): 40.9, 72.0 μg/l), whereas oral selenium supplements (median: 100 μg/day) for 6 to 114 months caused no effect on CVD (RR=0.91; 95% CI: 0.74, 1.10).

conclusionsOur meta-analysis in prospective studies demonstrated a significant inverse association between selenium status and CVD risk within a narrow selenium range and a null effect of selenium supplementation on CVD was observed in RCTs. These findings indicate the importance of considering selenium status, dose and safety in health assessment and future study design.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsAdultAntioxidantsCardiovascular DiseasesCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedObservational Studies as TopicProspective StudiesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRiskSeleniumAntioxidantsSelenium

Identifiers

PMID25990689

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.