Effect of selenium supplementation on glycemic control and lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes: A review on current evidence

Diabetes is a progressive chronic disease and is considered as an important health problem, which has increased in recent years. The prevalence of diabetes in the Middle East in 2015 was 35.4 million, which more than 4.6 million people were in Iran. In this review, we specifically tried to summarize the results of clinical trials on the effects of selenium supplementation on glycemic control and lipid profile and inflammatory factors in type 2 diabetic patients. In this review, three interventional studies were included to evaluate the effect of Selenium supplementation on metabolic parameters. Serum insulin concentration and insulin resistance index were significantly reduced in two of the studies. Fasting plasma glucose and HDL cholesterol concentrations significantly increased in one study while in other studies no significant changes were observed. One of the studies showed a significant reduction in inflammatory Indicators and antioxidant capacity, one study also showed a significant decrease in lipid profiles. Selenium supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes may have adverse effects on blood glucose homeostasis. However, it may improve lipid profile and antioxidant capacity and reduces inflammatory mediators in these patients. Therefore, in spite of the negative effects of glucose homeostasis with regard to the positive effects seen, further investigations are needed to evaluate the final effect of selenium supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes.