Circulating Selenoprotein P Levels in Relation to MRI-Derived Body Fat Volumes, Liver Fat Content, and Metabolic Disorders

Objective: Association studies of selenoprotein P (SELENOP) with cardiometabolic traits in humans are relatively scarce and, in part, conflicting. A general population sample from Northern Germany was evaluated for cross-sectional associations of circulating SELENOP concentrations with metabolic syndrome (MetS), total volumes of MRI-determined visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) abdominal adipose tissue, liver signal intensity, and fatty liver disease (FLD). Methods: Nine hundred and five participants received comprehensive clinical and molecular phenotyping along with measurement of serum SELENOP; 584 individuals received MRI. Results: Multivariable-adjusted restricted cubic regression splines displayed statistically significant inverse relations of SELENOP levels with MetS, VAT, and SAT (P<0.0001 for all). Compared with the second quartile of SELENOP distribution, the MetS odds ratios for the first, third, and fourth quartiles were 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-2.43), 0.85 (95% CI: 0.57-1.26), and 0.41 (95% CI: 0.27-0.62), respectively. Furthermore, participants in the second, third, and fourth SELENOP quartiles had significantly lower VAT and SAT volumes as compared to those in the first biomarker quartile. A J-shaped relation was observed for SELENOP levels and liver signal intensity/FLD (P=0.01). Conclusions: The findings suggest inverse associations of circulating SELENOP concentrations with several metabolic traits, to be further investigated in longitudinal studies.