The correlation between selenium intake and lung function in asthmatic people: a cross-sectional study

Hejun Jiang; Guijun Yang; Jing Chen; Shuhua Yuan; Jinhong Wu; Jing Zhang; Lei Zhang; Jiajun Yuan; Jilei Lin; Jiande Chen; Yong Yin

doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1362119

The correlation between selenium intake and lung function in asthmatic people: a cross-sectional study

Front Nutr. 2024 May 17:11:1362119. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1362119. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Hejun Jiang¹, Guijun Yang¹, Jing Chen², Shuhua Yuan¹, Jinhong Wu¹, Jing Zhang¹, Lei Zhang¹, Jiajun Yuan^{3

4

5}, Jilei Lin^{1

4

5}, Jiande Chen¹, Yong Yin^{1

2

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Respiratory Medicine, Linyi Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital, Linyi Branch of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Linyi, Shandong, China.
³ Medical Department of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Pediatric AI Clinical Application and Research Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Intelligence Pediatrics (SERCIP), Shanghai, China.
⁶ Shanghai Children's Medical Center Pediatric Medical Complex (Pudong), Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the correlation between selenium intake and lung function in asthmatic people.

Methods: A total of 4,541 individuals in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were included in this study. Multivariate linear regression, variance inflation factor, restricted cubic splines and quantile regression were used to analyze the relationship between Se intake and lung function. We divided selenium intake into four levels based on quartiles: Q1: Se ≤ 76.75 mcg/d; Q2: 76.75-105.1 mcg/d; Q3: 105.1-137.65 mcg/d; and Q4: Se ≥137.65 mcg/d.

Results: Asthma was negatively associated with the Ratio of Forced Expiratory Volume 1st Second to Forced Vital Capacity (FEV1/FVC) (β = -0.04, 95% CI: -0.06 to -0.02) and FEV1 (β = -215, 95% CI: -340 to -90). Se intake was positively associated with Forced Expiratory Volume 1st Second (FEV1) (β =3.30 95% CI: 2.60 to 4.00) and Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) (β =4.30, 95% CI: 3.50 to 5.10). In asthmatic individuals, the positive effects of Se intake on FVC were enhanced with increasing Se intake, while the positive effects of Se intake on FEV1 varied less dramatically. High Se intake (Q4 level, above 137.65 mcg/d) improved FVC (β = 353, 95% CI: 80 to 626) and FEV1 (β = 543, 95% CI: 118 to 969) in asthmatic patients compared to low Se intake (Q1 level, below 76.75 mcg/d). At the Q2 level (76.75-105.1 mcg/d) and Q4 level (Se ≥137.65 mcg/d) of Se intake, the correlation between FEV1 and asthma disappeared.

Conclusion: Our research has revealed a positive correlation between selenium intake and lung function in asthma patients and the strength of this positive correlation is related to the amount of selenium intake. We recommend that asthma patients consume 137.65 mcg to 200 mcg of selenium daily to improve pulmonary function while avoiding the adverse effects of selenium on the human body.

Keywords: NHANES (National Health and nutrition examination survey); asthma; cross-sectional study; lung function; selenium intake.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Health and Family Planning Scientific Research Project of Pudong New Area Health Committee (PW2021E-06), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (YG2021QN109), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (YG2022QN095), Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Healthcare Industry Clinical Research Special Project (20224Y0180); Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission ‘Yangfan Plan’ (23YF1425100); Pudong New Area Science, Technology Development Fund Livelihood Research Special Fund Healthcare Project (PKJ2023-Y50), Shanghai Pudong New Area Science and Technology Development Fund Livelihood Research Special Fund Healthcare Project (PKJ2023-Y49), Science and Technology Committee of Shanghai, China (22015821400) and Three-year action plan for strengthening the construction of the public health system in Shanghai (GWVI-11.2-YQ58).