Effect of ethanol use and other lifestyle variables on measures of selenium status

Relationships between blood levels of selenium (SE) and SE-dependent glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity and selected lifestyle variables including ethanol ingestion, smoking behavior, nutrient intake, and nutrient supplement use were studied in 124 male and female subjects, half of whom drank alcoholic beverages lightly or moderately. Among the 19 independent lifestyle variables included in correlation and multiple regression analysis, ethanol intake was most strongly and consistently associated with levels of plasma and whole blood SE and plasma GPX activity, r = .32-.34, p less than 0.01. Light to moderate drinkers had higher, p less than 0.05, whole blood and plasma SE and GPX than subjects abstaining from alcohol. SE intake was not different. This positive association was in contrast to some previous reports in which alcoholics were shown to have lower blood SE levels than control subjects. A possible explanation could be the adequate SE intake and the light to moderate ethanol consumption of drinkers in this study.