Serum selenium, zinc and copper in Swedish and Finnish orienteers. A comparative study

Serum selenium, zinc and copper concentrations of 127 highly-trained Swedish orienteers have been analysed and compared with the corresponding values of 30 elite Finnish orienteers, and those of 111 healthy Finnish medical students. The mean serum selenium levels of Finnish orienteers, 1.35 mumol l-1, and students, 1.38 mumol l-1, were statistically significantly higher than those of Swedish orienteers, 1.09 mumol l-1. The serum levels of selenium were lower than 1.0 mumol l-1 in 27% of Swedish orienteers. This is obviously due to the lower selenium intake of the population in Sweden, where the soil selenium content is known to be low. Serum levels of zinc were within the reference interval in both Swedish and Finnish orienteers (mean values 14.8 and 14.1 mumol l-1, respectively). However, Finnish students had significantly lower serum levels of zinc, 12.5 mumol l-1. The mean serum concentration of copper was statistically significantly higher in females than in males.