Table 2.
Summary of studies assessing selenium level in COVID-19 patients
| Author | Date | Country | Design | Sample | Participants | Age1 (year) | Male (%) | Selenium1 (ng/mL) | Se normal range | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkattan et al. 2021 [15] | January 2021 | Saudi Arabia | Cross-sectional | Blood | 80 COVID-19 patients (severe = 35, non-severe = 45) | 51.54 | 64.9% | Severe = 162, non-severe = 134, all cases = 138 | 70–150 | Se level was significantly more in severe cases (p < 0.0001) |
| Heller et al. 2020 [20] | October 2020 | Germany | Cross-sectional | Blood | 35 COVID-19 patients (discharge = 29, death = 6) | 77 ± 41.48 | 46% | N/A | N/A | Se and SELENOP was significantly increase in discharges during hospitalization unlike deaths |
| Im et al. 2020 [21] | August 2020 | South Korea | Cross-sectional | Blood | 50 hospitalized COVID-19 patients | 57.5 ± 24.81 | 58% | 98.3 ± 12.81 | More than 95 | Se deficiencies increases severity and mortality |
| Majeed et al. 2021 [16] | November 2020 | India | Cross-sectional | Blood | 30 COVID-19 & 30 healthy individuals | 37 | 63.3% | Control = 79.09 ± 10.9, patients = 69.26 ± 8.78 | 70–150 | Se level was significantly lower in patients (p < 0.0003) |
| 14 healthy & 24 COVID-19 individuals | N/A | 100% | Control = 79.4 ± 9.2, patients = 68.4 ± 8.9 | 70–150 | Se level was significantly lower in patients (p < 0.0012) | |||||
| 16 healthy & 6 COVID-19 individuals | N/A | 0% | Control = 79.5 ± 12.5, patients = 74.9 ± 5.9 | 70–150 | No significant difference | |||||
| Moghaddam et al. 2020 [22] | July 2020 | Germany | Cross-sectional | Blood | 33 COVID-19 patients (discharge = 27, death = 6) | 77 ± 41.48 | 42% | Selenium (discharge = 53.3 ± 16.2, death = 40.8 ± 8.1)/SELENOP [mg/L] (discharge = 3.3 ± 1.3, death = 2.1 ± 0.9)/GPx3[U/L] (discharge = 251.6 ± 69.6, death = 224.8 ± 30.3) | 45.5–131.6 |
Se and SELENOP level was significantly lower in deaths (p < 0.001) & lower in patients comparing to reference data (p < 0.001) GPx3 was significantly lower in deaths (p < 0.001) |
| Muhammad et al. 2021 [23] | January 2021 | Nigeria | Cross-sectional | Blood | 50 COVID-19 & 21 healthy individuals | 41.43 | 64.8% | Control = 29.1 ± 1.9 ng/dL, patients = 25.3 ± 2.4 ng/dL | N/A | Se level was significantly lower in patients (p < 0.001 ( |
| Pincemail et al. 2021 [24] | February 2021 | Belgium | Cross-sectional | Blood | 9 COVID-19 (6 long stayers & 3 short stayers) | 64 ± 13.33 | 88.8% | Long stayers = 97 ± 7.75, short stayers = 51 ± 9.75, all cases = 74 ± 11 | 73–110 | Se level was significantly lower in short stayers (p = 0.023), |
| Skalny et al. 2021 [25] | April 2021 | Russia | Cohort (prospective) | Blood | 43 healthy & 150 COVID-19 (mild = 50, moderate = 50, severe = 50) | 56.2 | 56% | Control = 102 ± 16, mild = 93 ± 20, moderate = 90 ± 22, severe = 87 ± 31 | N/A | Se level was significantly lower in moderate (p = 0.047) and severe (p < 0.001 ( patients compared to control |
| Erol et al. 2021 [19] | May 2021 | Turkey | Cross-sectional | Blood | 26 healthy & 24 COVID-19 pregnant women in the 1st trimester | 27.31 | 0% | Control = 44.59 ± 8.4, patients = 46.52 ± 8.17 | N/A | No significant difference |
| 22 healthy & 26 COVID-19 pregnant women in 2nd Trimester | 28.97 | 0% | Control = 46.15 ± 8.15, patients = 36.03 ± 9.86 | N/A | Se level was significantly lower in patients (p < 0.001) | |||||
| 22 healthy & 21 COVID-19 pregnant women in the 3rd trimester | 27.59 | 0% | Control = 36.15 ± 6.25, patients = 27.01 ± 7.82 | N/A | Se level was significantly lower in patients (p < 0.01 ) | |||||
| Zeng et al. 2021 [26] | December 2020 | China | Cohort (retrospective) | Urine | 138 hospitalized COVID-19 (severe = 68, non-severe = 70) * creatinine-adjusted | 61.5 ± 9.6 | 57.2% | Severe = 45.63 ± 29.51 μg/g, non-severe = 27.65 ± 9.97 μg/g | 15.86–38.13 μg/g | Se urinary level was significantly higher in severe cases (p < 0.001) |
| 138 hospitalized COVID-19 (severe = 68, non-severe = 70) * creatinine non-adjusted | 61.5 ± 9.6 | 57.2% | Severe = 20.27 ± 16.15 μg/L, non-severe = 25.55 ± 13.78 μg/L | 10.46–82.71 μg/L | Se urinary level was significantly lower in severe cases (p = 0.024) | |||||
| 138 hospitalized COVID-19 (discharge = 117, death = 21) * creatinine-adjusted | N/A | N/A | Discharge = 40.56 ± 22.89 μg/g, death = 66.75 ± 56.84 μg/g | 15.86–38.13 μg/g | Se urinary level was significantly higher in deaths (p < 0.001) | |||||
| 138 hospitalized COVID-19 (discharge = 117, death = 21) * creatinine non-adjusted | N/A | N/A | Discharge = 19.95 ± 16.4 μg/L, death = 25.5 ± 18.36 μg/L | 10.46–82.71 μg/g | No significant difference (p = 0.543) | |||||
| Hackler et al. 2021 [27] | May 2021 | Germany | Cross-sectional | Blood | 35 hospitalized COVID-19 (discharge = 28, death = 7) | 77 ± 41.48 | 42.9% | N/A | N/A | Se and SELENOP was significantly increase in discharges during hospitalization unlike deaths |
Abbreviations: Se, selenium; SELENOP, selenoprotein P; GPx3, glutathione peroxidase 3
1Values are mean ± SD