Abstract
China is recognized as a selenium-deficient country, and nutritional selenium intake has always been a concern. To clarify the current inhabitants’ selenium nutrition status and the characteristics of dietary consumption in low-selenium areas, samples of human hair and grains were collected, and food frequency questionnaires were administered in Binxian County, Shaanxi Province, a typical low-selenium area in the Loess Plateau. The subject number of the study is 85, and the age range is from 11 to 81 years, with an average of 60. The results showed that the average hair selenium content of the residents was 231.7 μg/kg, and 62.4% of the participants had levels higher than the selenium deficiency threshold (200 μg/kg). There was a significant positive correlation between the hair selenium content and the food consumption score after adjusting for rice outsourcing. Three different dietary patterns were noted according to hierarchical cluster analysis. This study provides a tool for assessing the selenium nutrition of inhabitants in low-selenium areas and has considerable significance for improving the dietary pattern of residents.
Highlights
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for humans [1]
The results show that the average hair selenium content of the residents was 231.7 μg/kg, which was higher than the threshold for selenium deficiency (200 μg/kg) in Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) endemic areas [35]
Compared with the hair selenium content of other areas in Shaanxi Province, inhabitants living in the study area had a lower hair selenium content than those of adjacent Linyou County (370 μg/kg) and Yongshou County (400 μg/kg) [36]
Summary
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for humans [1]. This micronutrient plays an important role in redox homeostasis, antioxidant defense and the immune system via selenoenzymes and selenoproteins [2]. China is one of 40 selenium-deficient countries reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) [4], for there is a low selenium belt in China. The formation of a low selenium belt is determined by the migration characteristics and biological characteristics of selenium in the environment. A low-selenium environment leads to insufficient selenium intake through the food chain [5], which causes serious health consequences, such as Keshan disease and Kashin–Beck disease (KBD) [6,7,8]. The clinical manifestations of it are rheumatoid arthritis, shortening of fingers and toes, thickening of joints or growth disorders of Nutrients 2020, 12, 3816; doi:10.3390/nu12123816 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
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