Relationships between Urinary Selenium Concentrations and Allergylike Symptoms in Japanese Students

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate whether urinary selenium (Se) concentrations are related to allergylike symptoms in Japanese students. Void urine samples were collected from 180 male and 265 female students (18-36 years) in Fukui Prefecture. Their personal and family history of medical treatments for allergy and current statuses of allergylike symptoms were asked by a qustionnaire. Urinary Se level adjusted for creatinine concentration (Se/Cr) was significantly higher in females than in males (p<0.001). Although urinary Se/Cr level showed no significant relationship to personal or family history of allergy, it was significantly higher in students with asthmatic symptoms than in students without such symptoms both for males (p<0.001) and females (p<0.05), respectively. Furthermore, younger onset (below the age of 15) and multiplicity of suffering organs (dermal, nasal, ocular, and/or respiratory) showed increasing effects on urinary Se/Cr level in females but not in males. Thus, our results indicate that urinary Se concentrations can be higher in those who have asthmatic symptoms and especially in women who have chronic allergylike symptoms.