Vinceti M, et al. – In this study, researchers assessed selenium levels in blood (serum), hair, and nail samples from 680 study participants (267 men and 413 women) residing in a seleniferous region in order to examine the relationship between selenium exposure and blood pressure levels, as well as hypertension prevalence. They noted a positive association of systolic blood pressure with both serum and hair selenium levels, but not with nail selenium content, after adjusting for participant age, sex, and history of hypertension. In addition, a minor correlation between three selenium biomarkers and diastolic blood pressure was evident, and hypertension prevalence was positively linked to the three exposure indicators (P < 0.001). This relationship was much more pronounced in female vs male study participants. The investigators concluded that chronic overexposure to environmental selenium may elevate blood pressure levels; however, there were inconsistencies for this association, according to the choice of exposure indicator, the study endpoint, and the sex.