Lower serum selenium concentration associated with anxiety in children.
Jill Portnoy, Jessica Wang, Fenfen Wang and 4 others
PMID 34686396WHAT IT FOUND
Lower blood selenium was associated with higher anxiety scores and meeting cutoffs for several anxiety disorders in Chinese children.
The study cannot show selenium causes anxiety or that supplementation helps.
Key findings
01After adjusting for sex, age, location, and parental education, lower serum selenium was significantly associated with higher total anxiety, generalized anxiety, and school phobia scores.
02Children meeting clinical cutoffs for total anxiety, panic disorder/somatic symptoms, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and school phobia had lower mean serum selenium concentrations.
03After adjustment, lower serum selenium was also associated with higher likelihood of meeting cutoffs for total anxiety, panic/somatic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and school phobia, but not separation anxiety disorder.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional analysis, so it cannot show that low selenium caused anxiety or that raising selenium would reduce anxiety. The association was measured with serum selenium, not red blood cell selenium, which may better reflect long-term selenium status. The analysis did not control for family history of anxiety disorders, general malnutrition signs, or recent major events that could affect mood. Children with missing data were slightly older, less likely to have college-educated mothers or fathers, and more likely to live in rural areas. The study did not measure symptoms of selenium toxicity, so possible harms of higher selenium levels were not assessed. The sample had mean serum selenium of 141.10 μg/L; only 3 participants were below 80 μg/L, and 4.5% exceeded 230 μg/L. Optimal serum selenium concentrations for children are unknown. Findings come from Chinese children, so cultural and dietary differences may limit transfer to other populations.
Declared interests
The authors declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that selenium supplements will lower child anxiety. This study did not test selenium supplementation, the association was measured at one time point, and the authors caution that optimal child selenium levels are unknown and excess selenium can be toxic.