DIETARY HABIT AND SELENIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN ERYTHROCYTE AND SERUM IN A GROUP OF MIDDLE-AGED AND ELDERLY JAPANESE

We examined whether selenium (Se) levels in blood were related to dietary habits, age, sex, smoking, consumption of alcoholic beverages or obesity in a group of men and women above 40 years of age. Mean Se concentration in erythrocytes (ESe) was 244±50 (mean±SD) for males, and 235±36 ng/g for females; mean Se concentration in serum (SSe) was 111±19 for males, and 107±16 ng/ml for females. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the following variables were significant in determining ESe and SSe levels: fish consumption, age, and consumption of alcoholic beverages for ESe; and age, pattern of staple food consumption, and hemoglobin concentration in the blood for SSe. © 1990 Pergamon Press plc.