title: Reference concentrations of serum selenium and manganese in healthy nulliparas.
abstract: Reference serum selenium and manganese concentrations were established for healthy nulliparas aged 18-23 years resident in Cape Town. Measurements were determined for selenium in 100 female students who had been taking low-dosage triphasic contraceptive medication for a minimum of 3 months and in 100 female students who were not on contraceptive therapy. Manganese concentrations were determined for 25 female students from each group. The mean serum selenium concentrations were 0.988 +/- 0.189 micrograms/l (78 +/- 15 micrograms/dl) and 0.925 +/- 0.177 mumol/l (73 +/- 14 micrograms/l) respectively for females taking and not taking oral contraceptives. The corresponding concentrations for manganese were 21.84 +/- 9.82 nmol/l (1.20 +/- 0.54 micrograms/l) and 21.66 +/- 7.64 nmol/l (1.19 +/- 0.42 micrograms/l) respectively. The differences in selenium were statistically significant (P = 0.0231) but not for manganese (P = 0.910).
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town.
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Heese
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Dempster
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pocock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008345:Manganese / Q000097:blood*; D009644:Norgestrel / Q000494:pharmacology; D012016:Reference Values; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D009644:Norgestrel; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D008345:Manganese; D012643:Selenium