Selenium and vitamin status in the Al‐Kharj district, Saudi Arabia

Purpose. To determine the status of selenium, dl‐α‐tocopherol and all‐trans‐retinol in children and adults living in the Al‐Kharj district, using serum and toenail samples. Design. A cross‐sectional study. The samples were collected randomly from 1255 healthy Saudi subjects attending the Primary Health Care Units (PHCUs), Al‐Kharj for different common health problems.Materials and methods. Serum and toenail selenium concentrations were measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer coupled with an electrothermal temperature controller, whereas the levels of dl‐α‐tocopherol, all‐trans‐retinol and malondialdehyde in serum were determined using high‐performance liquid chromatography.Results. The arithmetic means of selenium, dl‐α‐tocopherol and all‐trans‐retinol in serum for the tested population were 102.165±22.936 µg l−1 (n = 1255, range 18.25–210.12 µg l−1), 22.715±6.908 µmol l−1 (n = 1250, range 2.53–79.44 µmol l−1) and 1.601±0.802 µmol l−1 (n = 1256, range 0.39–13.99 µmol l−1), respectively. Toen...