Table 2 Prevalence of selenium (Se) deficiency among women of reproductive age (WRA, aged 15–49 years) and men (aged 20–54 years) in Malawi, based on plasma Se concentration thresholds for optimal activity of glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3; <84.9 ng mL−1), iodothyronine deiodinase (IDI; <64.8 ng mL−1), and for Keshan Disease (KD; <30 ng mL−1) which is a cardiomyopathy linked to Se status reported in China. Thresholds from Thomson (ref.9).
From: The risk of selenium deficiency in Malawi is large and varies over multiple spatial scales
Characteristic | n | Prevalence (%) below the plasma Se concentration threshold | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GPx3 | IDI | KD | |||
WRA | Urban | 126 | 52.3 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
Rural | 676 | 64.3 | 32.7 | 1.8 | |
All | 802 | 62.5 | 29.6 | 1.5 | |
Men | Urban | 28 | 50.0 | 17.9 | 0.0 |
Rural | 187 | 58.3 | 23.0 | 1.1 | |
All | 215 | 57.2 | 22.3 | 0.9 | |
