Low plasma selenium concentrations and mortality among older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study
Fulvio Lauretani1,4, Richard D. Semba2, Stefania Bandinelli3, Amanda L. Ray2, Carmelinda Ruggiero4,5, Antonio Cherubini5, Jack M. Guralnik6, and Luigi Ferrucci4
1Tuscany Regional Agency, Florence, Italy, 2Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, 3Azienda Sanitaria Firenze, Florence, Italy, 4Longitudinal Studies Section, Clinical Research Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA, 5Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Perugia University Medical School, Perugia, Italy, 6Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA

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 (CI) 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. (Aging Clin Exp Res 2008; 20: 153-158) ©2008, Editrice Kurtis

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