title: A low plasma selenium is a risk factor for peripartum cardiomyopathy. A comparative study in Sahelian Africa.
abstract: A specific selenium deficiency is a risk factor for Keshan disease, an endemic cardiomyopathy observed in China. In a Sahelian area of Niger, plasma selenium concentration was measured by neutronic activation and particle induced X-ray emission in 35 black African women with peripartum cardiomyopathy and 36 breast-feeding women without cardiac failure as controls. The plasma selenium concentration in patients was lower (48 +/- 25 ng/ml, mean +/- standard deviation) than in controls (77 +/- 16 ng/ml) (P less than 0.0001). Moreover, 40% (14/35) patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy had very low plasma selenium concentrations, below 45 ng/ml, versus none in controls. A low plasma selenium concentration is a risk factor for the Sahelian peripartum cardiomyopathy.
authors.affiliation: Service de Médecine Interne (P. Béné), CHRU Morvan, Brest, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cénac
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonoff
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moretto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Djibo
mesh_terms: D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009548:Niger; D011247:Pregnancy; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D012643:Selenium