Variation in selenoprotein P concentration in serum from different European regions.

OBJECTIVE

To study the variation in selenoprotein P levels in serum among healthy subjects from 17 European regions representing nine countries.

SUBJECTS

Survey of 414 37-70-year-old subjects (197/217 males/females) from 17 regions.

RESULTS

The level of selenoprotein P varied significantly among regions and countries. When the highest concentration of selenoprotein P encountered in samples from Maldegem (Belgium), was set at 100%, the mean concentration for other regions was: 92% Barcelona; 91% Ipswich and London; 89% Malmö and Vosselaan; 86% Lisbon; 85% Netherlands; 83% Umeå; 82% Uppsala; 80% Paris; 79% Heidelberg; 78% Gothenburg and Grenoble; 74% Giessen; 71% Ioannina and 69% Epirus. When the data were pooled for the nine countries the highest selenoprotein P concentration was observed for subjects from Spain. When this concentration was set at 100%, the mean concentration for other countries was: 99% Belgium and United Kingdom, 94% Portugal, 92% Netherlands and Sweden, 86% France, 83% Germany and 76% Greece. The linear correlation between serum selenium and serum selenoprotein P in the whole sample was 0.68, P < 0.001 (n = 414), and it was similar in men and women. Despite this high correlation the mean ratio between selenoprotein P and selenium varied 1.3-fold among regions.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the concentration of selenoprotein P as well as its proportion of total serum selenium in adult subjects vary among different European regions. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the physiological or medical implications of these differences.