ArticleBMC infectious diseases2021
Association between fatality rate of COVID-19 and selenium deficiency in China.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Selenium serum levels in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of nutritional science · 2023Pooled it
- COVID-19 and Selenium Deficiency: a Systematic Review.Biological trace element research · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of Selenium and Vitamin E Deficiency on Zika Virus Pathogenesis and Immune Response in Mice.Viruses · 2026Article
- Unexpected species diversity in the understanding of selenium-containing soil invertebrates.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Selective Impact of Selenium Compounds on Two Cytokine Storm Players.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- Could Selenium Supplementation Prevent COVID-19? A Comprehensive Review of Available Studies.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Does atmospheric dimethyldiselenide play a role in reducing COVID-19 mortality?Gondwana research : international geoscience journal · 2023Article
- Association of trace element status in COVID-19 patients with disease severity.Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS) · 2022Article
- Thyroid Dysfunction and COVID-19: The Emerging Role of Selenium in This Intermingled Relationship.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Can Selenium Reduce the Susceptibility and Severity of SARS-CoV-2?-A Comprehensive Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Humoral immune response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccination in relation to selenium status.Redox biology · 2022Observational
- Ecological studies of COVID-19 and air pollution: How useful are they?Environmental epidemiology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2022Article
- Article
- The Effect of Circulating Zinc, Selenium, Copper and Vitamin KNutrients · 2022Article
- Association of COVID-19 mortality with serum selenium, zinc and copper: Six observational studies across Europe.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Observational
- Article
- Protective and detoxifying effects conferred by selenium against mycotoxins and livestock viruses: A review.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Review
- Selenium and protozoan parasitic infections: selenocompounds and selenoproteins potential.Parasitology research · 2022Review
- Role of Selenium in Viral Infections with a Major Focus on SARS-CoV-2.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 has impacted populations around the world, with the fatality rate varying dramatically across countries. Selenium, as one of the important micronutrients implicated in viral infections, was suggested to play roles.
methodsAn ecological study was performed to assess the association between the COVID-19 related fatality and the selenium content both from crops and topsoil, in China.
resultsTotally, 14,045 COVID-19 cases were reported from 147 cities during 8 December 2019-13 December 2020 were included. Based on selenium content in crops, the case fatality rates (CFRs) gradually increased from 1.17% in non-selenium-deficient areas, to 1.28% in moderate-selenium-deficient areas, and further to 3.16% in severe-selenium-deficient areas (P = 0.002). Based on selenium content in topsoil, the CFRs gradually increased from 0.76% in non-selenium-deficient areas, to 1.70% in moderate-selenium-deficient areas, and further to 1.85% in severe-selenium-deficient areas (P < 0.001). The zero-inflated negative binomial regression model showed a significantly higher fatality risk in cities with severe-selenium-deficient selenium content in crops than non-selenium-deficient cities, with incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 3.88 (95% CIs: 1.21-12.52), which was further confirmed by regression fitting the association between CFR of COVID-19 and selenium content in topsoil, with the IRR of 2.38 (95% CIs: 1.14-4.98) for moderate-selenium-deficient cities and 3.06 (1.49-6.27) for severe-selenium-deficient cities.
conclusionsRegional selenium deficiency might be related to an increased CFR of COVID-19. Future studies are needed to explore the associations between selenium status and disease outcome at individual-level.
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Registered trials
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