Selenium intake in relation to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A nationwide study in nutrition.

Aims: Limited evidence exists regarding the association of selenium with risk of death in individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study was designed to investigate the relationship between dietary selenium intake with mortality in a nationally representative sample of United States adults with NAFLD.

Methods: Dietary selenium intake was assessed in 2274 NAFLD adults younger than 60 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III through a 24-hour dietary recall. NAFLD was diagnosed by liver ultrasound after excluding liver disease due to other causes. Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to assess the effect of dietary selenium intake on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among individuals with NAFLD.

Results: At a median follow-up of 27.4 years, 577 deaths occurred in individuals with NAFLD, including 152 cardiovascular deaths. The U-shaped associations were discovered between selenium intake with all-cause (Pnolinear = 0.008) and cardiovascular mortality (Pnolinear < 0.001) in adults with NAFLD after multivariate adjustment, with the lowest risk around selenium intake of 121.7 or 125.9 μg/day, respectively. Selenium intake in the range of 104.1-142.4 μg/day was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and, otherwise, an increased risk. Selenium intake in the range of 104.1-150.6 μg/day was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular death and, otherwise, an increased risk.

Conclusions: Both high and low selenium intake increased the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death in adults younger than 60 years of age with NAFLD, which may help guide dietary adjustments and improve outcomes in adults with NAFLD.