Краткое описание

This study was designed to determine the status of selenium, dl-α-tocopherol, and all-trans-retinol in adults living in Al-Kharj district using serum and toenail samples, and to look for possible association between these parameters and the etiology of endemic diseases in the same area. For this purpose, we examined a cross section of samples of 743 healthy Saudi adults on routine visits to the Primary Health Care Unites (PHCUs) for different common health problems. The arithmetic mean for selenium, dl-α-tocopherol, and all-trans-retinol in serum and toenail selenium levels were 107.045 ± 23.045 μg/l (n = 743, range 52.600−210.120 μg/l), 1.053 ± 0.324 mg/dl (n = 737, range 0.29−3.42 mg/dl), 52.561 ± 25.671 μg/dl (n = 743, range 11.20−400.85 μg/dl), and 0.634 ± 0.221 μg/g (n = 691, range < DL − 1.797 μg/g), respectively. The average serum selenium concentration seems to be satisfactory and compares favourably with high selenium intake countries. Although none of our participants exhibited serum selenium deficiency (< 45 μg/l), 41% of our participants had toenail selenium < 0.56 μg/g reported low levels in the previous study. The mean serum dl-α-tocopherol concentrations fall within the upper limit of the normal range of > 0.698−1.981 mg/dl for α-tocopherol as found in previous studies. On the other hand, the mean serum all-trans-retinol is higher than the normal range (20−30 μg/dl). None had exhausted retinol stores <10 µg/dl. Significant negative association between all-trans-retinol and MDA levels in the serum was found as a sign of peroxidative lipid damage, confirming the role of vitamin A in reducing oxidative stress. Our data also revealed a link between the status of selenium, dl-α-tocopherol and all-trans-retinol and a number of health problems. However, these observations need larger epidemiological studies for further confirmation.