selenium concentrations in patients with depression: a case-control study

Background: evidence suggests that dietary micronutrients may be associated with depression. the role of selenium as a risk or protective factor for depression was contradictory. therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between serum selenium concentrations and depression. methods: this case-control study was conducted from 2018 to 2020 in shahrekord, iran. the case and control groups included patients with or without depression, respectively. seventy-two participants were selected using the conventional method. in addition to recording demographic variables, the blood selenium concentration of the participants was measured. results: there was no difference between case and control groups in terms of mean levels of blood selenium (p>0.05). results showed that there was no statistically significant interaction between the effects of gender and group (p=0.51), age and group (p=0.13), body mass index (bmi) and group (p=0.52) on blood selenium concentrations. however, females had significantly more selenium concentrations than males in both groups (p=0.005). conclusion: despite some confirming evidence for the association of depression and blood selenium concentration, this study did not show such a relationship. however, blood selenium concentration was higher in women than men in both groups.