ABSTRACT
Previous studies have shown that selenium (Se) deficiency is an important factor in the etiology of Kaschin-Beck disease (KBD) (Tan et al. 1988, Zhang et al. 2011). In recent years, the condition of KBD in Lhasa shows a downward trend and remains at a low level, although a few slight cases can still be detected by X-ray in children (Ci et al. 2014). Based on current observations, we found that a significant positive correlation exists between the declination of KBD condition and the increase of resident’s nutritional level of Se in KBD areas in the interior of China, which shows the benefit from the change of diet composition and the input of exogenous staple food with high Se contents (Hou 2000). However, there is insufficient information available on the residents’ daily Se intake in the KBD-affected area of Tibet.
