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Long · Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS) 2025 · systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials · n=367 participants across 7 trials

Effect of selenium supplementation on inflammatory markers and joint symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Cited 4 times in the scientific literature.

Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

PubMed 40695138 · doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127695 · record verified 2026-08-29

What was done

Authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials searching Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase up to February 12, 2025. Two reviewers screened studies on selenium supplementation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Study quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool, and pooled effect sizes were calculated using RevMan 5.4.

What was found

Across 7 randomized trials totaling 367 patients, selenium supplementation significantly reduced visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores (MD = -12.68, 95% CI [-19.08, -6.28], P = 0.0001) and the Ritchie articular index (MD = -1.13, 95% CI [-2.22, -0.05], P = 0.04). However, non-significant changes were found for erythrocyte sedimentation rate (MD = -8.87, 95% CI [-3.60, 1.85], P = 0.53), C-reactive protein (MD = -0.67, 95% CI [-1.43, 0.10], P = 0.09), morning stiffness (MD = 0.00, 95% CI [-0.13, 0.13], P = 0.95), and joint swelling (MD = -0.06, 95% CI [-0.54, 0.42], P = 0.81).

Why it matters

This review suggests selenium may offer modest symptomatic pain relief in rheumatoid arthritis, but fails to demonstrate a meaningful impact on systemic inflammatory markers or objective swelling.

Limits

The total sample size is very small (367 patients across 7 trials, averaging roughly 50 patients per trial). The abstract does not specify selenium dosages, formulations, baseline selenium status, treatment duration, or concurrent antirheumatic medications. There is also an apparent reporting inconsistency in the abstract regarding the ESR mean difference and confidence interval.

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