Effect of selenium on triglyceride and total cholesterol, weight gain, and physical activity on hemodialysis patients: A randomized double-blinded controlled trial

End‑stage renal disease is one of the most important chronic diseases. Selenium is one of the so‑called rare elements which are essential for our body functions. Here, we aimed to investigate and the effects of selenium supplement therapy on weight gain, physical activity, and triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol in patients under hemodialysis.

The current study is a double‑blinded clinical trial performed on patients with ESRD under hemodialysis in 2019. In the beginning, serum selenium levels were assessed. All patients were randomly divided into two groups. The first group was under treatments with tablets of selenium 400 μg. Patients received selenium tablets three times after each hemodialysis session (3 times a week) and the other group received placebo tablets. 3 months after the beginning of the study, blood selenium levels, TG and total cholesterol, and weight and physical activities of patients were evaluated again and compared with the beginning.

A total of 78 patients were included. Serum selenium levels at the beginning of our study were 40.06 ± 8.50 in the intervention group and 45.00 ± 8.16 in control groups. Selenium levels and physical activities of patients were increased significantly in intervention group compared to baseline ( P < 0.001 for both). Weight, physical activity, total cholesterol, and TG in both intervention and control groups did not change significantly after interventions (P > 0.05).

We showed that selenium supplement therapies have beneficial effects in patients under hemodialysis. Furthermore, we showed that selenium supplement therapies have positive effects on serum selenium levels but no effects on total cholesterol and TG.