ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND SELENIUM STATUS AMONG PATIENTS WITH CEREBRAL ANEURYSMS

The objective of this project is to evaluate the selenium status of patients with cerebral aneurysms (CA) and the influence of frequent consumption of food products, drinking liquors, and smoking on that status. Thirty-eight patients with CA before surgical procedures (16 men and 22 women, aged 29-73, with a mean age of 52.64 c 10.5 years) and a control group of 22 healthy people (aged 20-58, mean age of 37.10 c 10.9 years) were studied. Food-frequency questionnaires (n=22) were implemented to collect the dietary data. Selenium (Se) concentration of the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (n=11) samples were determined by the atomic absorption spectrometry method (Z-5000 instrument, Hitachi, Japan). The mean content of Se in the serum of patients with CA (73.248 c 13.30 kg/L) was similar to the mean content of Se in the control group (75.789 c 22.07 kg/L); however, in cerebrospinal fluid (patients with CA) it was 25.847 c 15.26 kg/L. We have observed a correlation between the content of Se in the serum and Body Mass Index (r = 0.637, p = 0.001). Frequent consumption of wholegrain bread, grits and rice, poultry, meat products, bacon and lard has the greatest influence on the content of Se in the serum of patients; but frequent consumption of cereals and grain products, tinned fish, and vegetable oil were inversely correlated with the serum content of Se. The independent variables included in the model accounted for about 85% of the variance.