Takeaway
- Selenium supplementation (200 μg or 50 μg daily) does not affect bone health or physical function in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis or osteopenia.
Why this matters
- Findings suggest that a single nutrient supplementation approach with selenium may be ineffective in improving musculoskeletal health in postmenopausal women.
Study details
- In this 6-month randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 120 postmenopausal women (age, >55 years) with osteoporosis or osteopenia were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive selenite 200 μg, 50 μg or placebo orally once per day.
- Primary endpoint: between-group difference in the ratio of urine N-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type I collagen (NTx) to creatinine at 26 weeks.
- Funding: UK National Institute for Health Research Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme.
Key results
- At 26 weeks, no significant difference was seen between treatment groups in urine NTx to creatinine ratio (nmol bone collagen equivalent:mmol creatinine):
- placebo: 40.5 (95% CI, 34.9-47.0);
- selenite 50 μg: 43.4 (95% CI, 37.4-50.0); and
- selenite 200 μg: 42.2 (95% CI, 37.5-47.6).
- Mean serum selenium and selenoprotein P increased from baseline to week 26 with selenite 50 μg (both P<.0001) and 200 μg (P<.0001 and P=.0018) vs placebo.
- There were no differences in bone turnover markers (procollagen type I N polypeptide, osteocalcin, C-terminal crosslinking telopeptide of type I collagen) and grip strength between treatment groups (all P>.05).
- There was a small difference in the short physical performance battery score with selenite 50 μg (−0.5; P=.037), but not with 200 μg (−0.5; P=.074) vs placebo at 26 weeks.
Limitations
- Single-centre study.
- Only women were included.
This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.
