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Low serum selenium concentrations are associated with poor grip strength among older women living in the community.
Author(s) -
Beck Justine,
Ferrucci Luigi,
Sun Kai,
Fried Linda P,
Walston Jeremy,
Varadhan Ravi,
Guralnik Jack,
Semba Richard
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a717-a
Subject(s) - grip strength , medicine , selenium , sarcopenia , hand strength , muscle strength , selenium deficiency , body mass index , physical therapy , gerontology , oxidative stress , chemistry , catalase , organic chemistry , glutathione peroxidase
Background: Aging is associated with a loss of muscle strength, and, in turn, loss of muscle strength has been associated with increased risk of disability and mortality. Selenium is important in normal muscle function because of its role in selenoenzymes that protect muscle against oxidative damage. Hand grip strength is a good indicator of overall muscle strength, due to its correlation with other strength measures such as knee extension and trunk extension. Specific Aim: To determine if low serum selenium concentrations are associated with poor grip strength. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted to examine the association between serum selenium and hand grip strength among 676 moderately to severely disabled community‐dwelling women in the Women's Health and Aging Study I in Baltimore, Maryland. Results: In multivariate linear regression models serum selenium was associated with grip strength ( P = 0.04) after adjusting for age, race, body mass index, Mini‐Mental Status Examination score, current smoking, hypertension, congestive heart failure and depression. Conclusion: Serum selenium is independently associated with poor grip strength among moderately to severely disabled older women living in the community. Selenium is an important component of antioxidant defenses, and low levels of selenium as associated with poor muscle strength. This research was supported by NIH R01 AG027012.