Selenium contents of serum and human milk from Finland and neighbouring countries

Abstract

In this work we have measured selenium concentration in 204 individual serum samples and in 105 human milk samples to compare the selenium levels in Finland after 10 years' selenium supplementation to neighbouring districts: North Estonia, Karelia in Russia, and St. Petersburg. Samples were collected between 1992 and 1994 and analysed with Zeeman graphite furnace AAS. Highest selenium concentrations were found from Finnish human milk (mean concentration in mature milk 19.2 μg/L, range 16–43 μg/L) and serum samples (mean 111.1 μg/L, range 71–163 μg/L). Selenium levels were low in the Karelian district (mean 11.5 μg/L, range 7–29 μg/L in colostrum milk), but in St. Petersburg levels were near to the levels in Finland (mean 21.9 μg/L, range 12–53 μg/L in colostrum milk and mean 88.3 μg/L, range 50–130 μg/L in serum. In Estonia we found unexpectedly low levels for selenium in human milk (mean 11.2 μg/L and range 9–14 μg/L in colostrum milk in Tallinn) and serum samples (48.2 μg/L, range 38–58 μg/L in Tallinn and 63.0 μg/L, range 31–104 μg/L in Rakvere). J. Trace Elem. Exp. Med. 10:225–232, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Selenium levels of Estonians

“…The difference was statistically significant among the study groups, whose serum samples were collected between 2000 and 2001 in Haapsalu and Narva, Se concentrations being higher in Narva. In Tallinn, Se concentrations were also statistically significantly lower than in Rakvere (Kantola et al, 1997). In that study, the mean Se concentration for the 118 Finnish pregnant women living in Kuopio during the same period (1992-1994) was 91 mg/l with the range of 71-163 mg/l.…”

“…In Tallinn, the mean concentration in the samples of 11 mothers (study group 2) was 48.2 mg/l (Kantola et al, 1997). Se contents in Tallinn were statistically, significantly lower than in Rakvere (P ¼ 0.007).…”

“…For study group 2, serum specimens were collected from 1992 to 1994 from pregnant Estonian women. Part of the results has been published before (Kantola et al, 1997). The specimens were collected in Estonia from two different regions: Tallinn and Rakvere.…”

Selenium Concentration in the Milk of Breast-Feeding Mothers and Its Geographic Distribution

“…It is well known that several areas in the world have low Se content in the soil (26) and that this is responsible for the low dietary intake of the element (27). The level of Se in the soil influences its amount in foodstuffs and thus the dietary Se intake and, consequently, its level in milk (13,28). The marked geographic differences in Se levels in human milk are reflected in the differences in dietary Se intake by breast-fed infants (13,29).…”

“…It is well known that Se concentration in milk depends on the mother's intake of the element (8)(9)(10). Milk from women living in countries where the soil content of Se is low, such as New Zealand (11), Finland until 1984 (12,13), and some other European countries (13)(14)(15), has lower Se concentration compared with milk obtained from women residing in countries with high soil Se content, such as the United States (16), Japan (6), or Venezuela (17). The Se level in the soil of some parts of Poland is low.…”