Assessment of dietary selenium intake of Jordanian adults in Madaba: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper aims to assess the intake of dietary selenium among Jordanian adults in Madaba Governorate. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a cross-sectional study in Madaba Governorate. Convenience sampling was done at Madaba Governorate for this study. The subjects comprised 500 subjects (325 women and 175 men) aged from 18 to 60 years. A 24-h recall (24-HR) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) were used to estimate the selenium intake in the studied population. Findings Mean of dietary selenium was more than the recommended amount by at least 2.5-fold in both methods FFQ and 24-HR (p = 0.004), while no significant difference was observed in selenium consumption per day for women and men respectively using FFQ. The results indicated that selenium consumption is higher than the RDA among Madaba population. A moderate correlation was found between both methods for all subjects, women and men, respectively (p < 0.05). Originality/value The authors conclude that the selenium intake in Jordanian population is significantly above the RDA. However, future studies are required to correlate this high intake with health benefits and exclude toxic effects of Selenium.