SELENIUM CONTENTS OF SERUM AND HUMAN-MILK FROM FINLAND AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES

In this work we have measured selenium concentration in 204 individual serum samples and in 105 human milk samples to compare the selenium l evels in Finland after 10 years' selenium supplementation to neighbour ing districts: North Estonia, Karelia in Russia. and St. Petersburg. S amples were collected between 1992 and 1994 and analysed with Zeeman g raphite furnace AAS. Highest selenium concentrations were found from F innish human milk (mean concentration in mature milk 19.2 mu g/L, rang e 16-43 mu g/L) and serum samples (mean 111.1 mu g/L, range 71-163 mu g/L). Selenium levels were law in the Karelian district (mean 11.5 mu g/L, range 7-29 mu g/L in colostrum milk) but in St Petersburg levels were near to the levels in Finland (mean 21.9 mu g/L, range 12-53 mu g /L in colostrum milk and mean 88.3 mu g/L, range 50-130 mu g/L in seru m. In Estonia we found unexpectedly low levels, for selenium in human milk (mean 11.2 mu g/L and range 9-14 mu g/L in colostrum milk in Tall inn) and serum samples (48.2 mu g/L, range 38-58 mu g/L in Tallinn and 63.0 mu g/L, range 31-104 mu g/L in Rakvere). (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, In c.