Category: Mortality

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Selenium Status and Mortality

How does selenium status relate to mortality?

Higher biomarker levels of selenium status correlate significantly with lower mortality rates. This is the conclusion of a 2025 meta-analysis of 20 cohort studies. Importantly, the central finding in the meta-analysis was a consistent inverse association between selenium status and mortality [Cui, Schomburg et al 2025].

Prof Urban Alehagen, cardiologist and selenium researcher
The KiSel-10 study results show that selenium is incorporated into selenoproteins that are involved in antioxidant defense, cellular protection, immune function, redox regulation, and thyroid hormone metabolism. Consequently, low selenium status can impair several biological systems. This is the mechanism by which poor selenium status contributes to increased mortality risk.

Basically, one standard deviation increase in selenium status corresponded to the following reduction in mortality:

  • 13% lower all-cause mortality
  • 11% lower cardiovascular mortality
  • 15% lower cancer mortality

Moreover, Cui et al found low serum Selenoprotein P (SELENOP) concentrations associated with an increased risk of stroke in subjects free of cardiovascular disease and with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality among heart disease patients. The association of SELENOP concentrations with cardiovascular disease  incidence was restricted to patients with hypertension or diabetes [Cui 2025]. read more

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Selenium Status and Mortality Risk

All-cause mortality, cancer mortality, and cardiovascular disease mortality are all three significantly associated with selenium status in the blood. Higher selenium status correlates with lower mortality risk. In particular, the inverse relationship with all-cause mortality was strong among different study populations in different countries and in different study regions. The inverse relationship was strong with different selenium measurement methods, with different study recruitment years, and with different study sizes and study follow-up lengths [Cui 2025].

Grave of Edith Piaf in the Pere Lachaise cemetery
Nearly a billion people in the world live in selenium-poor regions. Low selenium status in humans is strongly associated with an increased mortality risk.

These are the conclusions from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 observational studies that enrolled 67,534 study participants. The studies included 17 studies of all-cause mortality, 7 studies of cancer mortality, and 9 studies of cardiovascular disease mortality. The review shows that a concentration increase of one standard deviation in serum or plasma selenium biomarkers was associated with 13% lower all-cause mortality, 15% lower cancer mortality, and 11% lower cardiovascular mortality [Cui 2025]. read more

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Selenium and Selenoprotein P and Mortality

Higher all-cause mortality and higher mortality due to cancer, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal diseases, and respiratory disorders are associated with lower serum selenoprotein P concentrations in older German adults [Schöttker 2024].

Operation table
Death from all causes and death specifically caused by cancer, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal diseases, and respiratory disorders are strongly associated with low serum concentrations of the selenium-dependent selenoprotein P.

In plain English, lower blood concentrations of the selenium-dependent selenoprotein P are significantly associated with a higher risk of degenerative disease progression and with dying. Moreover, the data from the German study show that the risk of dying associated with low blood Selenoprotein P levels was more than double in men compared to women [Schöttker 2024].

In the Esther Study, German researchers assessed the association of measurements of serum Selenoprotein P concentrations with all-cause and cause-specific mortality data. They measured serum Selenoprotein P at baseline and again at a 5-year follow-up in 7,186 and 4,164 participants, respectively [Schöttker 2024]. read more