Serum Levels of Cu, Se, and Zn in Adult Rural/Urban Residents in Ghana: Paradigm Shift?

Abstract

Deficiencies in Cu, Se, and Zn impair one or more biochemical functions, and excess are associated with toxicity. Baseline studies on the Ghanaian population are scanty. The study was undertaken to determine whether significant rural/urban differences in the serum levels of Cu, Se, and Zn did exist. Forty males/60 females from rural and 50 males/50 females from urban Ghanaian communities were sampled. Serum Cu, Se, and Zn were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Cu level for rural and urban subjects was 997 +/- 333 and 979 +/- 290 microg/L, respectively (p = 0.68). However, Cu levels were significantly higher in the rural females (1,063 +/- 367 microg/L) than the rural males (898 +/- 249 microg/L; p = 0.0085). Se levels for rural/urban subjects were 97 +/- 36 and 87 +/- 31 microg/L, respectively (p = 0.03). Zn levels in the rural/urban subjects were 312 +/- 218 and 150 +/- 102 microg/L, respectively (p = 0.002). Additionally, Zn was significantly higher in rural females (428 +/- 204 microg/L) than the urban females (166 +/- 103 microg/L; p = 0.0002). Finally, Zn was significantly higher in rural females (428 +/- 204 microg/L) than males (172 +/- 116 microg/L; p = 0.0028). In conclusion, Cu, Se, and Zn were higher in the rural group compared to the urban group, and the generally low Zn levels were confirmed in another cohort follow-up study.

Biological Status and Dietary Intakes of Iron, Zinc and Vitamin A among Women and Preschool Children in Rural Burkina Faso

“…Studies on children in rural Burkina Faso quoted in the introduction revealed prevalence levels similar to those in our sample, ranging from 43.5% to 72.0% [ 8 – 10 ]. In Cameroon, among women and children [ 36 ], and among Ghanaian women [ 57 ], zinc deficiency was found to be much more important than in our study. But the most striking of our results was the high prevalence of zinc deficiency while intakes were very high, for both women and children.…”

Concurrent Micronutrient Deficiencies Are Low and Micronutrient Status Is Not Related to Common Health Indicators in Ghanaian Women Expecting to Become Pregnant

“…Some grouped anemia with specific micronutrients to report concurrence, and insufficiencies were not quantified. As such, the extent of the burden of co-occurring micronutrient deficiencies is unclear and is mostly speculated (14, 15, 17). In addition, data on micronutrient status specific to prepregnancy (women expecting to become pregnant) are lacking.…”

Blood Selenium Status in Normal Punjabi Population of Pakistan

“…As a consequence, the intake of Se through food has to be lower in local populations. However our data clearly shows that the Se levels of the normal population of Punjab (Pakistan) are comparable to most European, north American and many other countries except the low selenium regions of China [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. …”