Selenium status in Southern Tasmania

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 61; no. 9; pp. 1057 - 1063
• Main Authors: Jacobson, G.A, Tong, Y.C, Townsend, A.T, Featherstone, A.M, Ball, M, Robertson, I.K, Peterson, G.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing 01.09.2007; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; adults; Age Distribution; Aged; Analysis; Antioxidants - metabolism; Australia; Biological and medical sciences; blood chemistry; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Diet Surveys; dietary mineral supplements; Dietary minerals; Dietary supplements; dietary surveys; Female; food choices; food intake; Humans; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Informed consent; Logistic Models; Magnetic sectors; Male; Medical sciences; Men; Metabolic diseases; Middle Aged; nutrient availability; nutrient deficiencies; nutrient intake; Nutrition; nutritional adequacy; Nutritional Status; Odds Ratio; Population; questionnaires; Risk groups; Selenium; Selenium - administration & dosage; Selenium - blood; Selenium - deficiency; Sex Distribution; sociodemographic characteristics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tasmania; Universities and colleges; women; Tasmania; Australia; Oceania; Tasmania Australia; Human; Status; depletion; Nutrition; deficiency; Tasmania; South; Population; Selenium; plasma; Blood plasma
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602628

Objective: To assess the selenium status of Southern Tasmanians. Design: Cross-sectional. Settings: One thousand and five hundred adults randomly selected from the electoral roll living in the Greater Hobart region of Southern Tasmania, Australia, were invited to participate. Subjects: The overall response rate was 22% (335/1500). Interventions: A venous blood sample was collected and a questionnaire administered (consisting of brief demographic details and health questions) to subjects who granted informed consent. A previously validated assay using magnetic sector ICP-MS was employed for plasma analysis. Results: Total plasma selenium levels for this sample population were normally distributed with a mean level of 110 micrograms/l (range 67-268 micrograms/l) indicating that the majority of the subjects were not selenium-depleted (71% with levels greater than 100 micrograms/l). Adjustment for differential age/gender response rates produced similar values. More women under 50 (42%) and men over 50 (32%) had selenium levels <100 micrograms/l with the potential for sub-optimal selenoprotein activity. Low education attainment was associated with low total selenium level (P<0.02). Conclusions: The majority of participants were not deficient in selenium. Given the narrow therapeutic window of supplementation, dietary advice to increase foods rich in selenium, particularly to higher risk groups, may be an effective means of increasing plasma selenium toward target levels.