Selenium supplementation and the incidence of preeclampsia in pregnant Iranian women: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial.
OBJECTIVE
Recent studies have reported that antioxidant status, including serum selenium concentrations, is altered in women who develop preeclampsia. We wished to examine the effects of selenium supplementation in the prevention of preeclampsia in high-risk pregnant women.


METHODS
We carried out a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial. A total of 166 primigravid pregnant women, who were in the first trimester of pregnancy, were randomized to receive 100 microg of selenium (n = 83; dropouts, n = 22) or a placebo (n = 83; dropouts, n = 19) per day until delivery. The incidence of preeclampsia, serum selenium concentrations, lipid profile and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein status were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the study.


RESULTS
Supplementation with selenium was not associated with any reported major side effects and was associated with a significant increase in mean serum selenium concentrations at term (p < 0.001). In contrast, mean serum selenium concentrations remained unchanged in the control group (p = 0.63). The incidence of preeclampsia was lower in the selenium group (n = 0) than in the control group (n = 3), although this was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). After treatment, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were significantly increased in both groups compared with pretreatment levels (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that selenium supplementation in pregnant women may be associated with a lower frequency of preeclampsia.
Tara
Fatemeh
F
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ommolbanin Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Maamouri
Gholamali
G
Rayman
Margaret P
MP
Ghayour-Mobarhan
Majid
M
Sahebkar
Amirhossein
A
Yazarlu
Omid
O
Ouladan
Shaida
S
Tavallaie
Shima
S
Azimi-Nezhad
Mohsen
M
Shakeri
Mohammad T
MT
Boskabadi
Hasan
H
Oladi
Mohammadreza
M
Sangani
Maryam Teimoori
MT
Razavi
Behjat S
BS
Ferns
Gordon
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D000975:Antioxidants; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D002784:Cholesterol; D012643:Selenium