SELENIUM STATUS, FATTY-ACIDS, VITAMIN-A AND VITAMIN-E, AND AGING - THE NOVE STUDY

To investigate the relationships between aging and selenium status, vi tamins A and E, and plasma and erythrocyte fatty acids, we studied 105 healthy subjects (53 women, 52 men) living in Nove, a village near Vi cenza (Veneto Region, northern Italy). The subjects were distributed e qually for age and sex into four groups: group 1, 20-39 y; group 2, 40 -59 y; group 3, 60-75 y; and group 4, > 75 y. A careful selection of s ubjects to exclude those with chronic or acute diseases was obtained w ith the collaboration of the three general practitioners operating in Nove. Aging was associated with a progressive decrease in selenium sta tus and in the ratio of plasma and erythrocyte polyunsaturated to satu rated fatty acids (P:S). Stepwise multiple linear analysis revealed ag e, vitamin A, and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) as useful pr edictors of a substantial proportion of the selenium variability (R = 0.618, R(2) = 0.382; P < 0.001) and age and erythrocyte oleic acid as predictors of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase variability (R = 0.41 3, R(2) = 0.17; P < 0.001).