The selenium status of women with a history of recurrent miscarriage

To assess the relationship between selenium levels in human blood and hair, and the risk of recurrent miscarriages.

Case-control study.

Two groups of non-pregnant women: 18 women with one or more successful pregnancies and no history of miscarriage (control group); 26 women with a history of recurrent miscarriage (> or = 3) with no subsequent successful pregnancies (study group).

Samples of venous blood and scalp hair were collected and the selenium content analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

No significance difference was found between the level of selenium in the blood samples of the women in each group. There was a significant reduction in the mean hair selenium level in the recurrent miscarriage group compared with the control group (0.14 microg/g vs 0.34 microg/g). Further analysis of the recurrent miscarriage group revealed no relationship between levels of serum or hair selenium with parity. There was a significantly greater proportion of women in the control group who ate cereals, vitamin supplements, and liver or kidney.

There was evidence of selenium deficiency in women with recurrent miscarriages compared with a control group of women with a good reproductive performance. This difference was seen in hair samples but not serum samples and therefore may not represent a simple nutritional deficiency. The importance of selenium deficiency in miscarriage has still not been determined.