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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1583590
This article is part of the Research TopicNutrient Metabolism and Complications of Type 2 Diabetes MellitusView all 7 articles
A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Dietary Selenium Intake and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Adults: Insights from NHANES 2011-2016
Provisionally accepted- Department of Endocrinology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University,, Nanjing, China
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ObjectiveWhile selenium exhibits antioxidant properties, its association with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between dietary selenium intake and T2DM risk in a nationally representative population.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 2,170 adults from NHANES 2011–2016. Using weighted multivariable logistic regression, we estimated adjusted ORs with 95% CIs across selenium intake quartiles. Restricted cubic splines with three knots (10th, 50th, 90th percentiles) were employed to characterize nonlinear associations. Additionally, stratified analyses were performed based on age, sex, race, BMI, smoking status, and drinking status.ResultsA significant U-shaped relationship was observed between dietary selenium intake and T2DM risk (P for nonlinearity = 0.042), indicating increased risk at both low and high intake extremes. In obese individuals (BMI ≥30 kg/m²), higher selenium intake was inversely associated with T2DM (Ptrend = 0.016), suggesting a potential protective role in populations with elevated oxidative stress. No significant associations were found for supplemental or total selenium intake.Conclusion Both insufficient and excessive dietary selenium intake may elevate T2DM risk, with an optimal range identified through nonlinear modeling. Targeted selenium recommendations for obese individuals could mitigate diabetes risk, though longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causality. These findings highlight the importance of personalized nutrition strategies in high-risk populations.
Keywords: Dietary selenium intake, type 2 diabetes mellitus, Obesity, Cross-sectional study, NHANES
Received: 26 Feb 2025; Accepted: 16 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ge, yu, Yin, DeYue, Luo, Jianhua and Xia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ma Jianhua, Department of Endocrinology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University,, Nanjing, China
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