Serum selenium levels in healthy slovak children and adolescents

Blood serum selenium levels were measured in 891 healthy children and adolescents (aged 11–18 yr, 450 girls and 441 boys) residing in both rural and urban areas from eight regions of Slovakia. Subjects were divided into four age groups (11–12 y, 13–14 y, 15–16 y, and 17–18 y). Serum selenium concentration was determined by the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric method. The mean (±SD) serum selenium concentrations were 0.750 ±0.255 µmol/L in girls and 0.773 ±0.235 µmol/L in boys. A large proportion of the individuals (25.7% in girls, 18.1% in boys) exhibited serum selenium levels under 0.57 µmol/L (45 µg/L). An increasing trend of the serum selenium values with age has been observed in both boys (p < 0.01) and girls (p < 0.05). Boys had higher serum selenium levels in the all age groups but the differences were not statistically significant.