This is a systematic review of existing data on dietary selenium (Se) intake and status for various population groups in Europe (including the United Kingdom (UK)) and the Middle East. It includes English language systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional and case-control studies obtained through PUBMED searches from January, 2002, to November, 2014, for European data and from 1990 to November 2014, for Middle Eastern data. Reports were selected if they included data on Se intake and status. The search identified 19 European/UK studies and 15 investigations in the Middle East that reported Se intake and Se concentration in water and/or food and 48 European/UK studies and 44 investigations in the Middle East reporting Se status. Suboptimal Se status was reported to be widespread throughout Europe, the UK and the Middle East, and these results agreed with previous reports highlighting the problem. Eastern European countries had lower Se intake than Western European countries. Middle Eastern studies provided varying results, possibly due to varying food habits and imports in different regions and within differing socioeconomic groups. In conclusion, Se intake and status is suboptimal in European and Middle Eastern countries, with less consistency in the Middle East.

Selenium (Se) is a trace mineral and component of selenoproteins known to be crucial for immune and thyroid function and reproduction (1) . Better Se status has also been linked to lower mortality, slower cognitive decline, reduced viral virulence and lower cancer risk (1) . Se status in the UK is believed to be low (1) . This study used data collected in the D-FINES (Vitamin D, Food Intake, Nutrition and Exposure to Sunlight in Southern England) study to investigate the Se intake of UK women by ethnicity and season. Eighteen-to eightyyear-old Caucasian (mean age = 49 years, n 248) and South Asian (mean age = 50 years, n 55) women completed a 4-d diet diary (including one weekend day) in summer, autumn, winter and spring (June 2006-May 2007. Food-portion size photographs were included to aid participant estimation. Data were analysed using Win Diets 2005.Median Se intakes in Caucasians were 37, 38, 39 and 37 mg/d in summer, autumn, winter and spring, respectively. Median intakes for South Asians in summer, autumn, winter and spring were 35, 30, 36 and 32 mg/d. The figures show that 80-90% of Caucasians and 83-95 % of South Asians did not meet the RNI (60 mg/d) in any season and, more worryingly, 60 % of Caucasians and 60-70% of South Asians did not meet the LRNI (40 mg/d). While there was little seasonal change in Caucasian intakes, the South Asians showed a trend for poorer intake in autumn than in the other seasons. There was little difference in the percentage of women not achieving the LRNI or RNI by ethnicity, but there was a trend for Asians to be slightly less likely to achieve them in all seasons. Data were energy adjusted to allow for differing nutrient requirements. As the data were skewed, log transformation was performed to allow analysis by parametric methods. Independent samples T-tests showed statistically significant (P £ 0.05) differences in energyadjusted Se intakes in autumn (t = 2.515, P = 0.012) by ethnicity, with South Asian women having a significantly lower intake. However, no difference was found in summer, winter or spring. Selenium intake (µg/d) in Less than LRNIThis study highlights the poor Se intakes in UK women and adds novel information about Se intake by season. While overall we found no clear evidence of an ethnic or seasonal difference in Se intake, there was a trend for lower Se intakes in South Asian than in Caucasian women, especially in the autumn. This seasonal trend reflects the findings of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey in elderly people where the lowest Se status was found in autumn (2) . Limitations of the study include the acknowledged difficulty in precisely measuring food intake and the high variability in the Se content of foods, which limits the accuracy of the food-composition database used. These results should ideally be confirmed by the measurement of plasma Se. Our finding that 60-70% of the women did not meet the LRNI for Se is a matter of public-health concern, given the association between low Se status and a range of chronic health conditions (1)...

Se intake in the UK is thought to be declining whereas little is known about the Se status of Middle Eastern countries in general and Saudi Arabia specifically. Recent pre-clinical and clinical studies suggest a possible link between Se status and bone health. The purpose of this study was primarily to determine Se status, and secondarily to determine the influence of Se inadequacy on bone health using prospective measures of dietary selenium (Se) intake and bone health, and retrospective analyses of plasma and serum Se content. Plasma/serum Se concentration was measured in 76 women from the Saudi Arabian Bone Health (SABHS) study (34 premenopausal and 42 postmenopausal), and 92 women from the Vitamin D, Food Intake, Nutrition and Exposure to Sunlight (D-FINES) study in southern England (27 Caucasian premenopausal, 35 Caucasian postmenopausal,14 Asian premenopausal and 16 Asian postmenopausal). Bone health marker data was available for all subjects while dietary intake data was available for United Kingdom (UK) subjects only. Se was lower in Saudi Arabian compared to UK subjects (P<0.01) even after adjusting for body size. Postmenopausal women had higher Se across all ethnicities. Se status was significantly positively correlated with Se intake in the UK Caucasian subjects (autumn 2006 intakes) and 91.5% of the UK subjects did not meet the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI). Se status and intake relative to bone health had mixed outcomes. Based on these findings, Se status and intake is insufficient in UK and Saudi Arabian women with premenopausal women most affected.