Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T23:27:23.965Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The association between selenium levels and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a systematic review of the literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2022

Isa Silva ,
Isabella Bracchi  and
Elisa Keating Open the ORCID record for Elisa Keating [Opens in a new window]
Isa Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedicine, Unit of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Isabella Bracchi
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedicine, Unit of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal CINTESIS@RISE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Elisa Keating*
Affiliation:
Department of Biomedicine, Unit of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal CINTESIS@RISE, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author: Dr E. Keating, email keating@med.up.pt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is essential for selenoprotein synthesis, being thus important for immune and thyroid function, and for antioxidant defence. Some studies have shown that low levels of Se may associate with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). Nevertheless, evidence supporting Se supplementation in pregnant or childbearing-age women is still lacking. In this context, this work aimed to systematically review the most recent scientific evidence to understand the relationship between Se levels and HDP. We performed a systematic review (protocol number: CRD42022310424) with literature of the last decade. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, registers and grey literature were searched to identify studies reporting measurement of Se levels in normotensive and hypertensive pregnant women (supplemented or not with Se). Study quality was assessed using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Study Quality Assessment Tools. Among the thirty included studies, a majority, 61 % (n 19) of the ‘good’ or ‘fair’ studies, reported a negative association between Se and HDP, and some studies, 39 % (n 11) of the ‘good’ or ‘fair’ studies, reported a lack of association. This review provides an important amount of quality evidence suggesting that low Se levels associate with the occurrence of HDP. Nevertheless, the gathered information is not enough to underlie a recommendation for Se supplementation in pregnancy to protect against HDP. Thus, this review emphasises the need for further well-designed randomised controlled trials that may provide blunt evidence regarding the benefits of Se supplementation during pregnancy.

Keywords

SeleniumPregnancyHypertensive disorders of pregnancyPregnancy-induced hypertensionGestational hypertensionPre-eclampsiaEclampsia
Type
Systematic Review
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 130 , Issue 4 , 28 August 2023 , pp. 651 - 665
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Gajewska, K, Blazewicz, A, Laskowska, M, et al. (2020) Chemical elements and preeclampsia – an overview of current problems, challenges and significance of recent research. J Trace Elem Med Biol 59, 126468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rayman, MP (2012) Selenium and human health. Lancet 379, 1256–1268.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDowell, LR (1992) Minerals in Animal and Human Nutrition. San Diego: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Schomburg, L (2011) Selenium, selenoproteins and the thyroid gland: interactions in health and disease. Nat Rev Endocrinol 8, 160–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vanderlelie, J & Perkins, AV (2011) Selenium and preeclampsia: a global perspective. Pregnancy Hypertens 1, 213–224.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO Expert Committee (1973) Trace Elements in Human Nutrition. WHO Technical Report Series, No 532. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Reilly, C (2006) Selenium in Food and Health, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Institute of Medicine Panel on Dietary Antioxidants and Related Compounds (2000) Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US).Google Scholar
Oh, C, Keats, EC & Bhutta, ZA (2020) Vitamin and mineral supplementation during pregnancy on maternal, birth, child health and development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients 12, 491.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Qazi, IH, Angel, C, Yang, H, et al. (2018) Selenium, selenoproteins, and female reproduction: a review. Molecules 23, 3053.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Askari, G, Iraj, B, Salehi-Abargouei, A, et al. (2015) The association between serum selenium and gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Trace Elem Med Biol 29, 195–201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perkins, AV (2011) Placental oxidative stress, selenium and preeclampsia. Pregnancy Hypertens 1, 95–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poston, L, Igosheva, N, Mistry, HD, et al. (2011) Role of oxidative stress and antioxidant supplementation in pregnancy disorders. Am J Clin Nutr 94, 1980s–1985s.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, MA, Magee, LA, Kenny, LC, et al. (2018) Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: ISSHP classification, diagnosis, and management recommendations for international practice. Hypertension 72, 24–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hubalewska-Dydejczyk, A, Duntas, L & Gilis-Januszewska, A (2020) Pregnancy, thyroid, and the potential use of selenium. Hormones 19, 47–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Page, MJ, McKenzie, JE, Bossuyt, PM, et al. (2021) The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Syst Rev 10, 89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xu, M, Guo, D, Gu, H, et al. (2016) Selenium and preeclampsia: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biol Trace Elem Res 171, 283–292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bommarito, PA, Kim, SS, Meeker, JD, et al. (2019) Urinary trace metals, maternal circulating angiogenic biomarkers, and preeclampsia: a single–contaminant and mixture-based approach. Environ Health 18, 63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ghaemi, SZ, Forouhari, S, Dabbaghmanesh, MH, et al. (2013) A prospective study of selenium concentration and risk of preeclampsia in pregnant Iranian women: a nested case-control study. Biol Trace Elem Res 152, 174–179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laine, JE, Ray, P, Bodnar, W, et al. (2015) Placental cadmium levels are associated with increased preeclampsia risk. PLoS ONE 10, e0139341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKeating, DR, Fisher, JJ, MacDonald, T, et al. (2021) Circulating trace elements for the prediction of preeclampsia and small for gestational age babies. Metabolomics 17, 90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mistry, HD, Gill, CA, Kurlak, LO, et al. (2015) Association between maternal micronutrient status, oxidative stress, and common genetic variants in antioxidant enzymes at 15 weeks’ gestation in nulliparous women who subsequently develop preeclampsia. Free Radic Biol Med 78, 147–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katz, O, Paz-Tal, O, Lazer, T, et al. (2012) Severe pre-eclampsia is associated with abnormal trace elements concentrations in maternal and fetal blood. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 25, 1127–1130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, R, Sun, J, Yoo, H, et al. (2016) A prospective study of serum trace elements in healthy Korean pregnant women. Nutrients 8, 749.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holmquist, E, Brantsæter, AL, Meltzer, HM, et al. (2021) Maternal selenium intake and selenium status during pregnancy in relation to preeclampsia and pregnancy-induced hypertension in a large Norwegian pregnancy cohort study. Sci Total Environ 798, 149271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewandowska, M, Sajdak, S & Lubiński, J (2019) Serum selenium level in early healthy pregnancy as a risk marker of pregnancy induced hypertension. Nutrients 11, 1028.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liu, T, Zhang, M, Guallar, E, et al. (2019) Trace minerals, heavy metals, and preeclampsia: findings from the Boston birth cohort. J Am Heart Assoc 8, e012436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ambad, RS, Jha, RK, Bankar, N, et al. (2020) Effect of minerals on markers of risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women: a hospital based study. Indian J Forensic Med Toxicol 14, 6819–6824.Google Scholar
McAlpine, JM, McKeating, DR, Vincze, L, et al. (2019) Essential mineral intake during pregnancy and its association with maternal health and birth outcomes in south East Queensland, Australia. NutrMetab Insights 12, 1–12.Google ScholarPubMed
Rayman, MP, Bath, SC, Westaway, J, et al. (2015) Selenium status in U.K. pregnant women and its relationship with hypertensive conditions of pregnancy. Br J Nutr 113, 249–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Al-Hilli, NM, Al-Shalah, HH & Hasan, MA (2017) The impact of serum manganese, molybdenum and selenium levels on pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Res J Pharm Biol Chem Sci 8, 1495–1501.Google Scholar
Farzin, L & Sajadi, F (2012) Comparison of serum trace element levels in patients with or without pre-eclampsia. J Res Med Sci 17, 938–941.Google ScholarPubMed
Haque, MM, Moghal, MM, Sarwar, MS, et al. (2016) Low serum selenium concentration is associated with preeclampsia in pregnant women from Bangladesh. J Trace Elem Med Biol 33, 21–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, J, Kim, YJ, Lee, R, et al. (2012) Serum levels of zinc, calcium, and iron are associated with the risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women. Nutr Res 32, 764–769.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mazloomi, S, Khodadadi, I, Alimohammadi, S, et al. (2021) Correlation of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activities with serum trace elements in preeclampsia. Clin Exp Hypertens 43, 120–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Negi, R, Pande, D, Karki, K, et al. (2012) Trace elements and antioxidant enzymes associated with oxidative stress in the pre-eclamptic/eclamptic mothers during fetal circulation. Clin Nutr 31, 946–950.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dahabiyeh, LA, Tooth, D, Kurlak, LO, et al. (2020) A pilot study of alterations in oxidized angiotensinogen and antioxidants in pre-eclamptic pregnancy. Sci Rep 10, 1956.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewandowska, M, Więckowska, B, Sajdak, S, et al. (2020) First trimester microelements and their relationships with pregnancy outcomes and complications. Nutrients 12, 1108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elongi Moyene, JP, Scheers, H, Tandu-Umba, B, et al. (2016) Preeclampsia and toxic metals: a case-control study in Kinshasa, DR Congo. Environ Health 15, 48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Enebe, JT, Dim, CC, Ugwu, EO, et al. (2020) Serum antioxidant micronutrient levels in pre-eclamptic pregnant women in Enugu, south-East Nigeria: a comparative cross-sectional analytical study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 20, 392.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eze, SC, Ododo, NA, Ugwu, EO, et al. (2020) Serum selenium levels of pre-eclamptic and normal pregnant women in Nigeria: a comparative study. PLoS ONE 15, e0238263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maduray, K, Moodley, J, Soobramoney, C, et al. (2017) Elemental analysis of serum and hair from pre-eclamptic South African women. J Trace Elem Med Biol 43, 180–186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nnodim, J, Emmanuel, N, Hope, O, et al. (2017) Membrane potential, serum calcium and serum selenium decrease in preeclampsia subjects in Owerri. Univ Med 36, 88–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soobramoney, C, Maduray, K, Moodley, J, et al. (2019) The screening of nails for selected essential and toxic elements in normotensive and pre-eclamptic women. Biol Trace Elem Res 189, 28–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
da Silva, AC, Martins-Costa, SH, Valério, EG, et al. (2017) Comparison of serum selenium levels among hypertensive and normotensive pregnant women. Hypertens Pregnancy 36, 64–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rezende, VB, Barbosa, F Jr, Palei, AC, et al. (2015) Correlations among antiangiogenic factors and trace elements in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. J Trace Elem Med Biol 29, 130–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cinemre, FBS, Cinemre, H, Erdogan, E, et al. (2019) Association of selenoprotein W1 (rs3786777) polymorphism, maternal plasma selenoprotein W (SelW), and selenium levels in patients with pre-eclampsia. Trace Elem Electrol 36, 61–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rayman, MP, Searle, E, Kelly, L, et al. (2014) Effect of selenium on markers of risk of pre-eclampsia in UK pregnant women: a randomised, controlled pilot trial. Br J Nutr 112, 99–111.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mistry, HD, Wilson, V, Ramsay, MM, et al. (2008) Reduced selenium concentrations and glutathione peroxidase activity in preeclamptic pregnancies. Hypertension 52, 881–888.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hesse-Bähr, K, Dreher, I & Köhrle, J (2000) The influence of the cytokines Il-1beta and INFγ on the expression of selenoproteins in the human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2. Biofactors 11, 83–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roman, M, Jitaru, P & Barbante, C (2013) Selenium biochemistry and its role for human health. Metallomics 6, 25–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventura, M, Melo, M & Carrilho, F (2017) Selenium and thyroid disease: from pathophysiology to treatment. Int J Endocrinol 2017, 1297658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lai, H, Zhan, Z-Y & Liu, H (2020) Association between thyroid hormone parameters during early pregnancy and gestational hypertension: a prospective cohort study. J Int Med Res 48, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barton, JR, O’Brien, JM, Bergauer, NK, et al. (2001) Mild gestational hypertension remote from term: progression and outcome. Am J Obstet Gynecol 184, 979–983.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, GK, Mackenzie, C, Brown, MA, et al. (2007) Predicting transformation from gestational hypertension to preeclampsia in clinical practice: a possible role for 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Hypertens Pregnancy 26, 77–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rumbold, A, Duley, L, Crowther, CA, et al. (2008) Antioxidants for preventing pre-eclampsia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008, CD004227.Google ScholarPubMed
Han, L & Zhou, S (1994) Selenium supplement in the prevention of pregnancy induced hypertension. Chin Med J 107, 870–871.Google ScholarPubMed
Salles, AM, Galvao, TF, Silva, MT, et al. (2012) Antioxidants for preventing preeclampsia: a systematic review. ScientificWorldJournal 2012, 243476.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomson, CD (2003) Selenium | physiology. In Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition, pp. 5117–5124 [Caballero, B, editor]. Oxford: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandra, S, Tripathi, AK, Mishra, S, et al. (2012) Physiological changes in hematological parameters during pregnancy. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus 28, 144–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, Z, Myers, R, Wei, T, et al. (2014) Placental transfer and concentrations of cadmium, mercury, lead, and selenium in mothers, newborns, and young children. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 24, 537–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Faupel-Badger, JM, Hsieh, CC, Troisi, R, et al. (2007) Plasma volume expansion in pregnancy: implications for biomarkers in population studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 16, 1720–1723.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hubalewska-Dydejczyk, A, Duntas, L & Gilis-Januszewska, A (2020) Pregnancy, thyroid, and the potential use of selenium. Hormones 19, 47–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Silva et al. supplementary material

Silva et al. supplementary material

Download Silva et al. supplementary material(File)
File 45.9 KB