Low plasma selenium concentrations and mortality among older community-dwelling adults: the InCHIANTI Study

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) mu mol/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