The association between the risk of heart disease and dietary intakes of selenium remains unclear. Here we report the results of some of the recent observational studies on this topic.
Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Moreover, sub-group analysis showed that the association between cardiovascular disease risk and dietary selenium intake was consistent across different status groupings. These status groupings included age, BMI, diabetes, gender, hypertension status groupings. The researchers concluded that public health authorities need to establish dietary selenium intake levels to benefit public cardiovascular health [Liang 2025].
Risk of Heart Failure
In 2025, Li et al reported on findings from an analysis of data from 6,969 adults in the NHANES 2017–2020 cohort. The researchers found that there is a U-shaped relationship between serum selenium level and heart failure risk [Li 2025].
They observed the lowest heart failure risk at serum selenium levels of 150–160 mcg/L. These are serum selenium concentrations that are considerably higher than the serum selenium status achieved by Europeans without supplementation. Both low and high selenium levels were associated with increased heart failure risk [Li 2025].
Risk of Hypertension
In 2024, Wu et al used data from the same NHANES cross-sectional study to assess the relationship between hypertension and dietary selenium intake. The researchers examined data from 32,928 individuals. Their analysis showed that each quartile increase in dietary selenium intake was associated with an 11% decrease in the likelihood of hypertension. That is to say, the prevalence of hypertension in adults in the USA was found to be linearly and negatively correlated with dietary selenium intake [Wu 2024].
Furthermore, sub-group analyses showed no significant effect of age, alcohol consumption, BMI, diabetes, gender, and smoking status on the association between dietary selenium intake and the prevalence of hypertension. The researchers concluded that greater emphasis on selenium consumption may lead to improved prevention and treatment of hypertension [Wu 2024].
Risk of Stroke
Again, using the 2003-2018 NHANES cross-sectional study, Shi et al analysed data from 39,438 participants, aged 20-85 years. The researchers divided the study participants into quartiles based on daily dietary selenium intake [Shi 2022]:
- Q1: 0-77 mcg
- Q2: 77-108 mcg
- Q3: 108-148 mcg
- Q4: 148-400 mcg
The risk of stroke in quartiles 2, 3, and 4 was significantly lower than the risk of stroke in quartile 1. In this study, the extent of the risk did vary across different sub-groups. In particular, the data showed non-linear negative correlations between dietary selenium intake and the risk of stroke varied if the study participants belonged to any of the following sub-groups [Shi 2022]:
- family income divided by the poverty threshold less than 2.14
- female
- high blood pressure
non-anemia - non-diabetes
- overweight and obese
- younger than 60 years
The researchers concluded that dietary selenium intake of approximately 105 mcg/day had had an optimal beneficial effect on the risk of stroke [Shi 2022].
Conclusion: Selenium and Heart Disease Risk
The content of selenium in the soil and in food products varies in different regions of the world. This influences daily intakes of selenium. In Europe, typically, intakes of selenium are considerably lower than selenium intakes in North America [Alehagen 2022].
Accordingly, it is interesting to see that, even in the United States, higher daily selenium intakes seem to be associated with significant decreases in the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and stroke.
Sources
Alehagen U et al. Improved cardiovascular health by supplementation with selenium and coenzyme Q10: applying structural equation modelling (SEM) to clinical outcomes and biomarkers to explore underlying mechanisms in a prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled intervention project in Sweden. Eur J Nutr. 2022 Sep;61(6):3135-3148.
Li H et al. Exploring optimal serum selenium range for heart failure prevention: A U-shaped association and mediation by hepatic steatosis in US adults. Journal of International Medical Research. 2025;53(8). doi:10.1177/03000605251370320.
Liang D et al. Association between dietary selenium intake and
the risk of cardiovascular disease in US adults: a population-based
study. Sci Rep. 2025 Apr 18;15(1):13427.
Shi W et al. Correlation between dietary selenium intake and stroke in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2018. Ann Med. 2022 Dec;54(1):1395-1402.
Wu Y et al. Association between dietary selenium intake and the
prevalence of hypertension: results from the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2018. Front Immunol. 2024 Jan
16;15:1338745.
The information presented in this review article is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used as such.