Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37497053›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2023

A pilot survey of selenium status and its geospatial variation among children and women in three rural districts of Zimbabwe.

Beaula Mutonhodza, Christopher Chagumaira, Mavis P Dembedza, Edward J M Joy, Muneta G Manzeke-Kangara, Handrea Njovo, Tasiana K Nyadzayo, R Murray Lark, Alexander A Kalimbira, Elizabeth H Bailey and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Selenium: A Key Element in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Beaula MutonhodzaDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Christopher ChagumairaSchool of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United Kingdom.
Mavis P DembedzaDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Edward J M JoyLondon School for Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Muneta G Manzeke-KangaraRothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom.
Handrea NjovoNational Nutrition Unit, Ministry of Health and Child Care of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Tasiana K NyadzayoNational Nutrition Unit, Ministry of Health and Child Care of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
R Murray LarkSchool of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United Kingdom.
Alexander A KalimbiraDepartment of Human Nutrition and Health, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Elizabeth H BaileySchool of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United Kingdom.
Martin R BroadleyRothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom.
Tonderayi M MatsungoDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Prosper ChoperaDepartment of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
University of Zimbabwe · ZWRothamsted Research · GBUniversity of Nottingham · GBMinistry of Health and Child Welfare · ZWLilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources · MW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Selenium (Se) deficiency is increasingly recognized as a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: The current cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence and geospatial patterns of Se deficiency among children aged 6-59 months ( Results: Median, Q1, and Q3 plasma Se concentrations were 61.2, 48.7, and 73.3 μg/L for women and 40.5, 31.3, and 49.5 μg/L for children, respectively. Low plasma Se concentrations (9.41 μg/L in children and 10.20 μg/L in women) indicative of severe Se deficiency risk was observed. Overall, 94.6% of children and 69.8% of women had sub-optimal Se status defined by plasma Se concentrations of <64.8 μg/L and <70 μg/L, respectively. Discussion: High and widespread Se deficiency among women and children in the three districts is of public health concern and might be prevalent in other rural districts in Zimbabwe. Geostatistical analysis by conditional kriging showed a high risk of Se deficiency and that the Se status in women and children in Murewa, Shamva, and Mutasa districts was driven by short-range variations of up to ⁓12 km. Selenium status was homogenous within each district. However, there was substantial inter-district variation, indicative of marked spatial patterns if the sampling area is scaled up. A nationwide survey that explores the extent and spatial distribution of Se deficiency is warranted.

Indexed as

conditional kriginggeospatial patternsglutathione peroxidase 3iodothyronine deiodinasemicronutrientsselenium deficiency

Identifiers

PMID37497053
PMCPMC10367098
OpenAlexW4383875310

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.