The Status of Selenium and Zinc in the Urine of Children From Endemic Areas of Kashin-Beck Disease Over Three Consecutive Years

Xin Kang; Yanli Liu; Yi Gong; Lin Huang; Hongliang Liu; Minhan Hu; Ruitian Huang; Feihong Chen; Sijie Chen; Feiyu Zhang; Yujie Ning; Cheng Li; Rong Zhou; Hongmou Zhao; Xi Wang; Xiong Guo

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.862639

The Status of Selenium and Zinc in the Urine of Children From Endemic Areas of Kashin-Beck Disease Over Three Consecutive Years

Front Nutr. 2022 Apr 8:9:862639. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.862639. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xin Kang¹, Yanli Liu², Yi Gong², Lin Huang², Hongliang Liu³, Minhan Hu⁴, Ruitian Huang², Feihong Chen², Sijie Chen⁴, Feiyu Zhang⁴, Yujie Ning⁴, Cheng Li⁵, Rong Zhou⁵, Hongmou Zhao⁶, Xi Wang², Xiong Guo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sports Medicine, Honghui Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
² Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, China.
³ Department of Orthopedics, Honghui Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Trace Elements and Endemic Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center of Endemic Disease and Health Promotion for Silk Road Region, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, China.
⁵ Department of Kashin-Beck Disease and Keshan Disease Prevention, Shaanxi Provincial Institute for Endemic Disease Control, Xi'an, China.
⁶ Foot and Ankle Surgery Department, Honghui Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Abstract

Selenium deficiency is one of the main risk factors for Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). This study aimed to detect the status of selenium and zinc in the urine of children from endemic areas of KBD over three consecutive years and to evaluate whether selenium and zinc levels in children in Shaanxi Province remain normal after stopping selenium supplementation. The samples of urine were collected in consecutive years (2017-2019) to detect selenium content by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HGAFS) and to detect zinc content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Generalized estimation equation (GEE) analysis was integrated to assess the comprehensive nutritional status and dietary structure of children. Data were processed in duplicate and analyzed by SPSS 18.0. This study included 30 X-ray-positive KBD cases and 123 healthy children aged 7-12 years. A total of 424 urine and 137 hair samples were collected over three consecutive years for selenium determination. The mean value of urinary selenium in all subjects was 6.86 μg/l (2017), 8.26 μg/l (2018), and 4.04 μg/l (2019), and the mean value of urinary zinc in all subjects was 0.36 mg/l (2017), 0.39 mg/l (2018), and 0.31 mg/l (2019) for the three consecutive years of 2017-2019. The mean values of urinary selenium were 6.56 and 6.94 μg/l (2017), 8.69 and 8.14 μg/l (2018), and 4.57 and 3.90 μg/l (2019) in the KBD-X and normal groups, respectively; and the mean value of urinary zinc were 0.38 and 0.35 mg/l (2017), 0.41 and 0.39 mg/l (2018), and 0.43 and 0.28 mg/l (2019) in the KBD-X and normal groups, respectively. The mean value of hair selenium in 137 subjects was 275.08 μg/kg and the mean values of hair selenium were 267.48 and 276.61 μg/kg in the KBD-X group and normal group, respectively. The level of selenium/zinc showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing during the three consecutive years. The level of selenium in all subjects from the endemic areas was lower than normal, which reminds us to monitor the state of KBD constantly and adjust selenium salt supplementation in accordance with the changes in the KBD state.

Keywords: Kashin-Beck disease; children; hair; selenium/zinc content; urine.