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Selenium status and associated factors in a British National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4–18 y

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 56, pages 873–881 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: Assessment of selenium status to provide normative reference values, and investigation of associated socio-demographic factors, in a national sample of British young people aged 4–18 y.

Setting: National Diet and Nutrition Survey—a nationwide cross-sectional sample of young people aged 4–18 y living in mainland Britain in 1997.

Methods: Selenium status was measured, mainly in fasting blood samples, by plasma selenium concentration in 1127 participants, by red blood cell (RBC) selenium concentration in 1112, and by whole-blood glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in 658.

Results: No evidence of severe selenium deficiency or toxicity was observed. Plasma selenium concentration was directly correlated with RBC selenium concentration, and both were associated directly, although less strongly, with GPx activity. Plasma and RBC selenium concentrations increased significantly with age, with RBC concentrations significantly higher in older girls than boys. Region of domicile exhibited a significant relationship. Associations also occurred with parental occupational social class, selenium concentrations being higher in more socially advantaged children. Black and Indian children had considerably higher concentrations than Caucasian children. Concentrations, especially of plasma selenium, were significantly lower in children either (or both) of whose parents were smokers, although, unexpectedly, there was no evidence that children who themselves smoked had lower levels.

Conclusions: The observed associations between selenium status indices and age, gender, social class, parental smoking and ethnic group indicate a complex network of biological factors which determine selenium concentrations in blood components, and which thus need to be controlled for when using these indices to assess selenium status in young people.

Sponsorship: The survey was commissioned jointly by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, whose responsibility has since been transferred to the Food Standards Agency. Support for the further analysis presented in this paper was provided by the Department of Health.

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Acknowledgements

The survey was commissioned jointly by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, whose responsibility has since been transferred to the Food Standards Agency. It was carried out by the Social Survey Division of the Office for National Statistics, in conjunction with MRC Human Nutrition Research (formerly part of the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit). The authors wish to acknowledge the analytical assistance given by Mrs R Mensikov and Mrs A Clewlow of the SAS Trace Element Unit, Southampton General Hospital. Support for CWT and funding for the red cell selenium analyses were provided by the Department of Health.

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Author notes

  1. CJ Bates: Guarantor: CJ Bates.

  2. CJ Bates: Contributors: CJB co-ordinated sample collection and biochemical analyses, contributed to study design and data interpretation, and drafted the manuscript; CWT revised the manuscript and contributed to data analyses; AP directed sample collection, contributed to study design and data interpretation, and commented on the manuscript; HTD measured the blood selenium concentrations and contributed to data interpretation; JG co-ordinated the survey fieldwork and reviewed the manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, UK

    CJ Bates, CW Thane & A Prentice

  2. SAS Trace Element Unit, Chemical Pathology, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK

    HT Delves

  3. Social Survey Division, Office for National Statistics, London, UK

    J Gregory

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Correspondence to CJ Bates.

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Bates, C., Thane, C., Prentice, A. et al. Selenium status and associated factors in a British National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4–18 y. Eur J Clin Nutr 56, 873–881 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601405

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