November 2005

Study links low selenium levels with
higher risk of osteoarthritis

People without enough selenium in their bodies face a higher risk of knee osteoarthritis, a first-of-its-kind study suggests.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Thurston Arthritis Center medical scientists and colleagues conducted the research. It focused on the knees of 940 participants enrolled in the Johnston County (N.C.) Osteoarthritis Project, a continuing, federally supported investigation of osteoarthritis that began 15 years ago and is headquartered at UNC.

Scientists found that for every additional tenth of a part per million of selenium in volunteers’ bodies, there was a 15 percent to 20 percent decrease in their risk of knee osteoarthritis. Those who had less of the trace mineral than normal in their systems faced a higher risk of the degenerative condition in one and both knees. The severity of their arthritis was related to how low their selenium levels were.

The long-term Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project is the largest and longest of its kind ever done and has involved some 4,400 volunteers, both blacks and whites, whose experiences with arthritis doctors follow and analyze.

The team got interested in the possibility that selenium might play a role in preventing osteoarthritis in part because in severely selenium-deficient areas of China, people frequently develop Kashin-Beck disease, which causes joint problems relatively early in life.

The U.S. study involved comparing the extent of knee osteoarthritis in each subject as shown on carefully examined X-rays with how much selenium was in their systems. At the University of Missouri, a co-author determined the latter from toenail clippings taken during physical examinations in North Carolina. He employed a complicated nuclear technique known as Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis.

Most people get enough selenium in their diets in the United States if those diets are varied and include foods that come from different regions, Jordan said.

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, afflicts almost a million North Carolinians and more than 21 million people nationally, including many adults over age 65, according to Jordan. Some estimates suggest that as many as 70 million Americans will suffer from some form of arthritis within the next 20 years as baby boomers age.

Support for the research came from the CDC and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Source: EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org

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