Selenium intake and cardiovascular risk: what is new?
aDepartments of Environmental Health Sciences, USA bEpidemiology, USA cWelch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA dDepartment of Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Population Genetics, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain.PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Selenium is an essential element with a narrow safety margin. Adequate selenium intake is needed to maximize the activity of glutathione peroxidases and other selenoproteins. This review discusses recent experimental and epidemiologic contributions on the role of selenium for the prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. RECENT FINDINGS: Few randomized trials have evaluated the efficacy of selenium supplementation on cardiovascular endpoints. Most trials, conducted in selenium-replete populations, found no evidence of cardiovascular protection. A meta-analysis of 13 prospective cohort studies found
