[Reference values for blood, hair, and organ selenium levels in adults of Beijing]

Two hundred and four blood specimens and 202 hair specimens, and 72 tissue specimens of heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, muscle and skeleton from adults living in Beijing suddenly died were collected during 1990-1991. Selenium levels were determined by 2,3-diamine naphthalene fluorescence method with serum, human hair and calf liver as standard references to assure the quality of determination, and their reference values for adults in Beijing were established. Selenium nutritional status of the adults was evaluated preliminarily. Dietary selenium intake was estimated based on serum selenium levels, and the body total selenium content was estimated by biological monitoring.