Table 1. Basal characteristics of the study population divided into quartiles of serum Se levels.
| Variables | Quartile 1 <57.2 μg/l | Quartile 2 57.2–67.1 μg/l | Quartile 3 67.1–76.1 μg/l | Quartile 4 >76.1 μg/l | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of persons | 167 | 167 | 166 | 168 | |
| Males/females | 87/80 | 78/89 | 87/79 | 67/101 | |
| Age, years, mean (±s.d.) | 78.6 (4.0) | 77.8 (3.8) | 77.3 (3.7) | 77.2 (3.8) | 0.01 |
| History | |||||
| Smoking, n (%) | 25 (15.0) | 13 (7.8) | 12 (7.2) | 13 (7.7) | 0.05 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 29 (17.4) | 39 (23.4) | 43 (25.9) | 35 (20.8) | 0.27 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 122 (73.1) | 126 (75.4) | 127 (76.5) | 125 (74.4) | 0.90 |
| COPD, n (%) | 15 (9.0) | 23 (13.8) | 16 (9.6) | 26 (15.5) | 0.19 |
| NYHA class I, n (%) | 74 (44.3) | 76 (45.5) | 82 (49.4) | 55 (32.7) | <0.001 |
| NYHA class II, n (%) | 47 (28.1) | 56 (33.5) | 46 (27.7) | 55 (32.7) | 0.54 |
| NYHA class III, n (%) | 38 (22.8) | 30 (18.0) | 37 (22.3) | 26 (15.5) | 0.35 |
| NYHA class IV, n (%) | 4 (0.2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Medication | |||||
| ACE inhibitors, n (%) | 34 (20.4) | 36 (21.6) | 31 (18.7) | 37 (22.0) | 0.90 |
| β-Blockers, n (%) | 58 (34.7) | 71 (42.5) | 61 (36.7) | 51 (30.4) | 0.11 |
| Diuretics, n (%) | 56 (33.5) | 61 (36.5) | 47 (28.3) | 67 (39.9) | 0.15 |
| Clinical examination | |||||
| BP systolic, mm Hg (±s.d.) | 148 (23.6) | 150 (23.8) | 147 (23.5) | 151 (22.2) | 0.34 |
| BP diastolic, mm Hg (±s.d.) | 75 (9.5) | 76 (11.6) | 74 (11.9) | 75 (12.6) | 0.46 |
| ECG, AF, n (%) | 18 (10.8) | 21 (12.6) | 16 (9.6) | 14 (8.3) | 0.63 |
| Lab | |||||
| Hb<120 g/l, n (%) | 28 (16.8) | 19 (11.4) | 16 (9.6) | 19 (11.3) | 0.16 |
| EF<40%, n (%) | 16 (9.6) | 16 (9.6) | 18 (10.8) | 13 (7.7) | 0.43 |
| hs-CRP mg/l (s.d.) | 4.2 (6.5) | 3.0 (3.2) | 3.3 (3.7) | 5.5 (22.0) | 0.71 |
| sP-selectin ng/ml (s.d.) | 55.1 (23.4) | 57.7 (25.4) | 59.0 (22.3) | 59.3 (27.4) | 0.81 |
Abbreviations: AF, atrial fibrillation; BP, blood pressure; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ECG, electrocardiogram; EF, ejection fraction from echocardiographic examination; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity analysis of C-reactive protein; NYHA, New York Heart Association functional class; Se, selenium.
P-values <0.05 were considered significant, all P-values obtained from analysis of variance evaluation.