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Serum Total Selenium Status in Greek Adults and Its Relation to Age. The ATTICA Study Cohort

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Abstract

The trace element selenium is an essential micronutrient for human health and its low levels in serum are implicated in the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases. Therefore, the determination of total selenium in serum may contribute to the assessment of the health and nutritional status of certain populations. The objective of the present work was to determine total selenium in the serum of 506 healthy volunteers that participated in the ATTICA study. Selenium was determined in serum by using the technique of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The mean serum selenium concentration was determined to be 91.8 ± 33.7 μg/L (N = 506); 87.6% of women and 88.5% of men had serum selenium concentration below 125 μg/L, the cutoff considered to be required for optimal glutathione peroxidase activity. No association was found between serum selenium levels and the gender of the participants while a significant decline of selenium with age (p < 0.0001) was observed. According to our results, no anthropometric, lifestyle, nutritional, or biochemical indices were able to affect the association between serum selenium and age. This result may indicate that other factors such as selenium distribution as well as retention may be affecting the relationship between serum selenium and age.

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Acknowledgments

The authors S.L. and S.A.P. thank the European Commission for the funding of a Marie Curie Excellence Grant (contact no. MEXT-CT-2003-002788).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science of Nutrition-Dietetics, Harokopio University, El. Venizelou 70, 17671, Athens, Greece

    Sophia Letsiou, Tzortzis Nomikos, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Elizabeth Fragopoulou & Smaragdi Antonopoulou

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Voutes, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Sophia Letsiou & Spiros A. Pergantis

  3. First Cardiology Clinic, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Vasilisis Sofias 114, 11527, Athens, Greece

    Christos Pitsavos & Christodoulos Stefanadis

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  1. Sophia Letsiou
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  2. Tzortzis Nomikos
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  3. Demosthenes Panagiotakos
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  4. Spiros A. Pergantis
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  5. Elizabeth Fragopoulou
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  6. Smaragdi Antonopoulou
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  7. Christos Pitsavos
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  8. Christodoulos Stefanadis
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Correspondence to Smaragdi Antonopoulou.

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Letsiou, S., Nomikos, T., Panagiotakos, D. et al. Serum Total Selenium Status in Greek Adults and Its Relation to Age. The ATTICA Study Cohort. Biol Trace Elem Res 128, 8–17 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-008-8252-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-008-8252-2

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