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Low plasma selenium concentrations and mortality among older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study

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Abstract

Aims: We examined the relationship between plasma selenium levels at enrollment and all-cause mortality over a 6-year period among participants in the InCHIANTI study. Methods: 1042 men and women ≥65 years from the InCHIANTI study, a population-based study of older adults living in the Chianti region of Tuscany, a population-based cohort in Tuscany, Italy. Plasma selenium was measured at enrollment (1998–2000), and vital status was ascertained until May 2006. Results: During follow-up, 237 participants (22.7%) died. At enrollment, mean (SD) plasma selenium concentrations among participants who survived or died were 0.96 (0.14) and 0.87 (0.18) μmol/L (p<0.0001), respectively. The proportion of participants who died, from lowest to highest quartile of selenium, was 41.3, 27.0, 18.1 and 13.5% (p<0.0001 by Mantel-Haenszel chi-square). After adjusting for age, sex, education, and chronic diseases, adults in the lowest quartile of plasma selenium at enrollment had higher mortality compared with those in the highest quartile (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.60, 95% Confidence Interval (Cl) 1.04–2.47, p=0.034). Conclusion: Low plasma selenium may be an independent predictor of mortality among older adults living in the community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tuscany Regional Agency, Florence, Italy

    Fulvio Lauretani

  2. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Richard D. Semba & Amanda L. Ray

  3. Azienda Sanitaria Firenze, Florence, Italy

    Stefania Bandinelli

  4. Longitudinal Studies Section, Gerontology Research Center, Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging, Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD, 5600, 21224-6825, USA

    Fulvio Lauretani, Carmelinda Ruggiero & Luigi Ferrucci MD, PhD

  5. Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Perugia University Medical School, Perugia, Italy

    Carmelinda Ruggiero & Antonio Cherubini

  6. Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Jack M. Guralnik

Authors
  1. Fulvio Lauretani
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  2. Richard D. Semba
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  3. Stefania Bandinelli
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  4. Amanda L. Ray
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  5. Carmelinda Ruggiero
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  6. Antonio Cherubini
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  7. Jack M. Guralnik
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  8. Luigi Ferrucci MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Luigi Ferrucci MD, PhD.

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Lauretani, F., Semba, R.D., Bandinelli, S. et al. Low plasma selenium concentrations and mortality among older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study. Aging Clin Exp Res 20, 153–158 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324762

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324762

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