Lower serum selenium levels are associated with diverticular disease of the colon

Selenium plays a pivotal in many immunological events and inflammatory processes. Diverticular disease of the colon (DDC) is one of the most frequent gastrointestinal diseases and causes higher costs on the health system and deterioated quality of life for patients. DDC ecompasses a wide range of gastrointestinal diseases ranging from asymptomatic diverticular disease to perforated acute diverticulitis and peritonitis. Till date, no information is available describing the serum selenium levels in patients with DDC. In this study we aimed to investigate whether serum selenium deficiency is related to DDC. We compared 30 patients who had DDC and 40 patients without DDC. Diagnosis of DDC was done by colonoscopic examination. CT of the abdomen was also used for confirmation of DDC. Selenium concentrations of serum were determined using plasma mass spectrometry. There was a statistically significant difference between groups in terms of serum selenium levels (p [J Med Allied Sci 2019; 9(2.000): 67-69]