title: Hair Selenium Levels of School Children in Kashin-Beck Disease Endemic Areas in Tibet, China.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that the selenium (Se) deficiency is an important factor for the etiology of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). Although KBD is presently controlled in most regions of China, it is still active in the Tibetan Plateau. The present study aimed to assess the nutritional status of selenium in school children by using the Se level in hair as a biomarker in KBD endemic areas of Lhasa in Tibet, China. Hair samples of 155 school children aged 6-15 years were collected in both KBD areas and non-KBD areas of Lhasa in 2013. The Se level in the hair samples was determined by inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The average concentration of Se in children's hair was 0.232 μg/g in KBD areas of Lhasa, which was significantly higher than the data reported decades ago. A significant difference in hair Se was observed between the boys (0.255 μg/g) and the girls (0.222 μg/g) in the studied KBD areas (P < 0.01, Mann-Whitney U test), but hair Se did not vary by age or region. School children in KBD endemic areas in Lhasa likely have improved Se status as a result of high Se content staple food substitution with the enforcement of Free Education Policy and Nutrition Improvement Plan in Tibet. Nevertheless, there were still 20.3 % of students with low Se status (hair Se <0.20 μg/g), which showed that Se status of school children was also partly affected by low Se environment in KBD endemic areas of Lhasa.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China.|Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China. lihr@igsnrr.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Hairong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Linsheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wuyi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yonghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Endemic Diseases Control, Tibet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lhasa, 850000, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongqiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Center for Endemic Diseases Control, Tibet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lhasa, 850000, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Center for Endemic Diseases Control, Tibet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lhasa, 850000, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Cangjue
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nima
authors.affiliation: Center for Endemic Diseases Control, Tibet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lhasa, 850000, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shengcheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environment Hygiene and Health Related Product Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 100050, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bixiong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Center for Endemic Diseases Control, Tibet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lhasa, 850000, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Sangbu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Danzeng
authors.affiliation: Center for Endemic Diseases Control, Tibet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lhasa, 850000, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yangzong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deji
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D057767:Kashin-Beck Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012643:Selenium / Q000032:analysis*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D018609:Tibet / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D012643:Selenium
keywords: Hair; Kashin–Beck disease; School children; Selenium; Tibet