The diet and high blood selenium concentrations. A study of battery repair workers in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

Abstract

This study is based on an earlier study on the assessment of the bioavailability of inorganic elements among battery repair workers in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, which revealed high blood concentrations of selenium, lead and antimony. Selenium is obtained mainly through the diet in the form of food and dietary supplements. The purpose of this study was to investigate the food patterns of the battery repair workers and how this correlates with blood selenium concentrations. Sixty-three battery repair workers from the background study were the subjects for this study. A food frequency questionnaire was used to gather information on the frequency of consumption of foods within the six food groups of Ghana. An additional food group, beverages was also incorporated. Multiple linear regression was used to test associations between demographic factors and selenium concentrations, and also to test associations between food items and selenium concentrations. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The mean selenium concentration was 256µg/L. The battery repair workers had frequent intakes of meat, fish, tomatoes, onions, pepper, vegetable and palm oil. These food items constitute the basic ingredients in Ghanaian soups and sauces. Among the demographic factors, BMI significantly predicted selenium concentrations. Selenium concentrations were also found to decline with age. The food items that significantly predicted selenium concentrations were plantain, snails, palm fruits, palm oil, tigernut milk, and oats. Of these, tigernut milk, palm oil and oats exhibited positive correlations. It can be concluded that the diet and food patterns correlate with blood selenium concentrations.