Abstract
Objective: To examine dietary selenium intake and indices of selenium status (plasma and red blood cell selenium and glutathione peroxidase activities) in apparently healthy Scottish individuals. Design and subjects: One hundred subjects, aged between 40 and 60 y, completed a seven day weighed food intake and provided blood samples for selenium status analysis. Setting: Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Results: Average reported selenium intake was low (43 µg/d). A significant number of subjects had reported intakes below the RNI. Low levels of plasma selenium were also found but no subject had values below 40 µg/l. Red blood cell selenium was within the reference range established for a healthy UK population. Smoking status had no consistent effect on selenium status. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that selenium status of certain Scottish individuals may be compromised and that further studies are warranted. Sponsorship: BASF, Germany; The Tobacco Products Research Trust, UK; Scottish Office Agriculture Environment and Fisheries Department.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shortt, C., Duthie, G., Robertson, J. et al. Selenium status of a group of Scottish adults. Eur J Clin Nutr 51, 400–404 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600421
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600421
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
A comprehensive review on environmental transformation of selenium: recent advances and research perspectives
Environmental Geochemistry and Health (2019)
-
Selenium deficiency in subtropical littoral pampas: environmental and dietary aspects
Environmental Geochemistry and Health (2018)
-
Vegetarianism and colorectal cancer risk in a low-selenium environment: effect modification by selenium status? A possible factor contributing to the null results in British vegetarians
European Journal of Nutrition (2017)
-
Soil-to-Human Mineral Transmission with an Emphasis on Zinc, Selenium, and Iodine
Springer Science Reviews (2015)
-
Selenium status of Irish adults: evidence of insufficiency
Irish Journal of Medical Science (2002)