What type of study is this?

This is a Cross-Sectional Study study.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the association of blood selenium levels with hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis in naturally menopausal women.

March 15, 2026Open Access

Association between blood selenium level and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease among naturally menopausal women: A cross-sectional study

Key Points

To evaluate the association of blood selenium levels with hepatic steatosis and liver fibrosis in naturally menopausal women.
Cross-sectional analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2018) with 595 participants.
Weighted logistic regression analyzed the association with NAFLD prevalence.
Linear and ordinal logistic regression assessed associations with liver steatosis and fibrosis.
No significant association found between blood selenium levels and NAFLD prevalence.
Higher blood selenium levels were negatively associated with liver fibrosis (β = −2.32).
Inversely significant associations were observed in higher selenium quartiles compared to the reference group.

Abstract

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing health burden worldwide. The association between blood selenium (Se) and NAFLD in naturally menopausal women remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association of blood Se levels with the prevalence of NAFLD, hepatic steatosis, and liver fibrosis in the US naturally menopausal women population. This study analyzed the dataset from the 2017 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, including 595 naturally menopausal women. Weighted logistic regression models were used to evaluate the cross-sectional association between blood Se levels and the prevalence of NAFLD. Linear regression and ordinal logistic regression were used to evaluate the association between blood Se levels and liver steatosis and fibrosis. All analyses were conducted using the R survey package. There were no significant associations of blood Se levels with NAFLD in 3 adjusted models (odds ratio OR = 0.52, 95% confidence interval CI, 0.04–7.11; OR = 0.66, 95% CI, 0.04–9.82; OR = 0.79, 95% CI, 0.08–8.08). However, in the fully adjusted model, blood Se levels showed a negative association with liver fibrosis (β = −2.32, 95% CI, −4.21, −0.43). Participants were divided into quartiles (Q1–Q4) based on the distribution of blood Se concentrations within the study cohort. The specific cutoff points were Q1 group (<173.67 μg/L), Q2 group (173.67 to <189.15 μg/L), Q3 group (189.15 to <204.35 μg/L), and Q4 group (≥204.35 μg/L). Compared with the reference group (Q1 group, <173.67 μg/L), significant inverse associations were also found for the higher Se groups (Q3 group: OR = 0.23, 95% CI, 0.1–0.53; Q4 group: OR = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.12–0.66). Our results showed that blood Se levels were not significantly associated with the prevalence of NAFLD in a US population of naturally menopausal women, but higher blood Se levels were negatively associated with liver fibrosis. Further research is needed to assess the causal relationship between exposure and disease risk.

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