The Swedish KiSel-10 Study provides randomized controlled trial evidence that a daily combination of an organic high-selenium yeast supplement and a pharmaceutical-grade Coenzyme Q10 supplement can reduce cardiovascular mortality, improve heart function, and increase health-related quality of life in senior citizens [Alehagen 2013].
Low blood selenium concentrations and higher risk of heart disease
Professor Urban Alehagen and a team of researchers from Linköping University investigated the blood selenium levels in 688 Swedish senior citizens. The mean blood selenium level was 67.1 micrograms per liter, which is quite low but not surprising, given that Sweden is a country with selenium-low soil and selenium-poor foodstuffs [Alehagen 2016].
When the researchers adjusted for gender, smoking, coronary artery disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and impaired heart function, they found that the quartile of senior citizens with the lowest level of blood selenium had a 43% higher risk of all-cause mortality and a 56% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality [Alehagen 2016].
