Selenium and vitamin D3 as potential predictive biomarkers of alcohol dependence syndrome severity: a case-control study.

Abstract

Currently, clinicians use a number of laboratory tests, including aminotransferase activity, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and mean corpuscular volume for monitoring patients with alcohol dependence. However, they have low sensitivity and specificity. The relationship between decreased vitamin D3 levels and the severity of alcohol dependence has been found in a number of studies. The aim of this study was to determine biochemical parameters, including dopamine, selenium, and vitamin D3 levels, in the blood of patients with alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) to assess their prognostic value. A case-control study was conducted using 50 patients with ADS, divided by age (young and mature) and 20 age-matched healthy volunteers. Fifteen blood biochemical parameters were analyzed using photometric methods, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection. In addition, we used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Beck's Depression Inventory. The study utilized analytical and descriptive statistics via Statistics forWindows v. 10.0. All patients had mild cognitive impairment (22-26 points on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment), depression (11-14 points on the Beck's Depression Inventory), and decreased vitamin D3 level (< 20 ng/ml). Vitamin D3 concentration had a positive correlation with dopamine levels (rs = 0.46; p = 0.0376) in young patients with ADS and a positive correlation with selenium levels in patients of all ages: in the general group of patients (rs = 0.48; p = 0.0004), in young (rs = 0.47; p = 0.0327) and mature (rs = 0.49; p = 0.0071) patients with ADS. The results of the binary logistic regression model showed a high predictive value of vitamin D3 deficiency with two covariates: blood selenium level (odds ratio (OR) = 24.62; 95%CI = 3.432; 269.8; likelihood ratio 10.3; p = 0.0002) and the result of the Beck's Depression Inventory (OR = 8.500; 95%CI = 1.957; 31.88). Therefore, vitamin D3 deficiency and/or selenium deficiency in patients with ADS may be associated with impaired dopamine neurotransmission, accompanied by depression and cognitive dysfunction, and determination of vitamin D3 and selenium in the blood will allow to developing an algorithm for monitoring patients with alcohol dependence in the future.