SELENIUM INTAKE, AGE, GENDER, AND SMOKING IN RELATION TO INDEXES OF SELENIUM STATUS OF ADULTS RESIDING IN A SELENIFEROUS AREA

Duplicate meals, serum, whole blood, and toenails were collected every 3 mo for 1 y from a group of 44 free-living adults residing in high-selenium areas of South Dakota and Wyoming to assess the relation of selenium intake to indices of selenium status. The average selenium values for the group were as follows: dietary intake, 174 ± 91 μg/d (x̄ ± SD), 2.33 ± 1.08 μg/kg body wt; serum, 2.10 ± 0.38 μmol/L; whole blood, 3.22 ± 0.79 μmol/L: and toenails, 15.2 ± 3.0 nmol/g. Selenium intake (μg/kg body wt) was strongly correlated (all values, P < 0.01) with selenium concentration of serum (r = 0.63), whole blood (r = 0.62), and toenails (r = 0.59). Men and women had similar mean values of serum, whole blood, and toenail selenium despite higher selenium intakes in men. Smokers had lower tissue selenium concentrations than did nonsmokers due, at least in part, to lower selenium intake. Age was not associated with tissue selenium content. Of the variables examined selenium intake was clearly the strongest predictor of tissue selenium concentration.