L-Shaped Association Between Daily food Selenium Intake and Erectile Dysfunction Among Adult Male in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Background The association between dietary intake and erectile dysfunction is receiving increasing attention. However, the relationship between erectile dysfunction and dietary selenium intake is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between dietary intake of selenium and erectile dysfunction (ED) using the data from the 2001 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods We used unadjusted analysis and adjusted logistic regression models to explore the association between covariates or selenium intake and ED. Generalized additive models were used to examine the presence of nonlinear relationships. Upon finding a nonlinear relationship, a recursive algorithm was used to calculate the inflection point. Results We observed a non-linear relationship between daily food selenium intake and ED among US male adults. The selenium intake level was lower than the threshold of 180.5 mcg, it was negative correlated with the likelihood of ED ([OR]: 0.99, 95%CI: 0.991–0.995, P < 0.01). Whereas when the selenium intake level was higher than 180.5mcg, there was no significance with the likelihood of ED ([OR]: 0.99, 95%CI: 0.991-1.000, 0.126). Conclusions We found an L-shaped association between dietary selenium intake and ED in the general American population.