Serum selenium levels and asthma among seafood processing workers in Greenland

• Published in: International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Main Authors: Birgitte Hamann Laustsen, Øyvind Omland, Else Toft Würtz, Louise Jørgensen, Jakob Hjort Bønløkke
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021
• Subjects: selenium; asthma; greenland; inuit; lung function; antioxidant; seafood; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic; Greenland; Circumpolar Health; greenlandic; International Journal of Circumpolar Health
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2021.1972525; https://doaj.org/article/32aa209c459e4c71886f96de9c4ea61e

Selenium levels in the Inuit population of Greenland have been declining during the last decades. The association between Selenium and asthma has been investigated previously, but with conflicting results. The objective was to measure human serum Se (s-Se) in Greenlandic seafood processing workers, to compare with levels recorded in previous decades and to establish if s-Se is associated with asthma or lung function. Data, including questionnaire answers, spirometry, skin-prick test and s-Se from 324 seafood processing workers in Greenland were collected during 2016–2017. Mean s-Se values were compared by t-test and one-way ANOVA. Associations between s-Se and asthma, symptoms from the lower airways at work and lung function were assessed using linear regression. The mean s-Se was 96.2 µg/L. S-Se was higher among non-smokers and workers living in settlements. Workers with asthma did not have s-Se levels significantly different from those of non-asthmatics. We found a positive association between s-Se levels and FEV1 values. Selenium levels appear to continue declining in Greenland, presumably because of a more Westernised lifestyle. The health effects of declining Selenium levels remain unclear. We did not establish an association between s-Se and asthma, but we did record a positive association between s-Se and FEV1.