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Hair Selenium Content in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Population

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Abstract

Selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient element for human health, and middle-aged and elderly people (age ≥ 45 years old) are at higher risk of nutrient deficiency including Se due to their physiological characteristics. This study investigated the hair Se content of middle-aged and elderly people in China with the purpose of providing a reference for prescription of hair Se normal range in this population. In this study, the hair Se content of 2155 middle-aged and elderly people was detected with atomic fluorescence photometry. The participants were recruited from 15 provinces or municipalities spreading from south to north of China with a diverse Se content in soil. Additionally, the relationships between hair Se content with sex, age, and BMI were analyzed. The results found that the median and 95% quantile of hair Se content were 0.36 μg/g and 0.60 μg/g respectively, with a range of 0.08 to 20.04 μg/g in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. The hair Se content mostly concentrated at 0.23~0.48 μg/g in 81.11% of participants. The participants in Guangdong and Hunan provinces had the highest hair Se levels (medians were 0.51 and 0.50 μg/g, respectively), while Henan and Shaanxi provinces had the lowest levels (medians were 0.30 and 0.29 μg/g, respectively). In addition, the Se content of males was higher than that of females (p < 0.05), whereas there was no significant difference between different ages and BMI (p > 0.05). In conclusion, this study found that the hair Se content of middle-aged and elderly Chinese ranges from 0.08 to 20.04 μg/g, with median and 95% quantile of 0.36 μg/g and 0.60 μg/g, respectively. Our results provide a reference for the establishment of hair Se content in this population and suggest that the differences of region and sex should be considered when setting up the range.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Research Foundation for Talented Scholars, Soochow University (Q412700114).

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Author notes

  1. Mengli Li and Hang Yun contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, Medical College, Soochow University, No.1 Shizi Street, Suzhou, 215006, China

    Mengli Li, Hang Yun & Li Wang

  2. Research Center, Soochow Setek Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Suzhou, 215123, China

    Jie Huang, Jian Wang, Wansheng Wu & Remmei Guo

Authors
  1. Mengli Li
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  2. Hang Yun
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  3. Jie Huang
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  4. Jian Wang
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  7. Li Wang
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Contributions

Mengli Li and Hang Yun designed the study, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. Mengli Li, Hang Yun, Jie Huan, Jian Wang, and Wansheng Wu conducted the study, including sample collection and detection. Jian Wang and Renmei Guo recruited subjects and provided essential reagents or materials. Li Wang designed and supervised the study and reviewed and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Li Wang.

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Li, M., Yun, H., Huang, J. et al. Hair Selenium Content in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese Population. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 3571–3578 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02482-4

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