Serum selenium and skin diseases among Nigerians with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Background: The role of selenium as an antioxidant micronutrient has garnered the unprecedented focus of researchers in recent times. No clinical study has related serum selenium concentration to skin diseases in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. Methods: In this study, 134 newly diagnosed HIV patients that satisfied the inclusion criteria were included. Skin diseases were clinically diagnosed and fasting venous blood was taken for assessment of serum selenium using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results: The mean age of HIV subjects with and without skin disease were not significantly different: 32.72 +/- 9.21 versus 35.86 +/- 8.55 years, P = 0.077, respectively. The mean of serum selenium (0.51 +/- 0.48 versus 0.81 +/- 0.39), CD4+ count (228.06 +/- 212.89 versus 446.41 +/- 182.87), and body mass index (BMI; 21.09 +/- 3.58 versus 23.53 +/- 3.35) were significantly lower (P < 0.001) for HIV/AIDS participants with skin disease than those without skin disease. We found significant clustering of symptoms and signs: fever (P = 0.037), weight loss (P = 0.009), oral candidiasis (P = 0.038), pallor (P = 0.037) among HIV/AIDS subjects with skin diseases than those without. Low serum selenium concentration was significantly associated with primary skin disease of HIV/AIDS, such as pruritic papular eruption of AIDS (P = 0.003), xeroderma (P = 0.030), fluffy hair (P = 0.021), blue-black nail hyperpigmentation (P = 0.033) and secondary skin disease, such as oral candidiasis (P = 0.002). There was a significant association between low serum selenium concentration and increasing frequency of skin diseases (P = 0.002), but serum selenium was not significantly related to extents of distribution of skin diseases (P > 0.05). Conclusion: serum selenium concentration was lower among HIV subjects with skin diseases than those without skin disease. Pruritic papular eruption, xeroderma, fluffy hair, blue-black nail hyper pigmentation, and oral candidiasis were significantly associated with low serum selenium concentration.