'High Selenium': ICMR Confirms Link Between Wheat And Sudden Hair Loss In Maharashtra Village

For most people, losing hair is one of the most distressing experiences, especially when it happens all of a sudden. Recently, a mass sudden inexplicable hair loss in a Shegaon taluka in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, caused widespread panic among locals, sparking the need to investigate the phenomenon.

To the shock of many, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed that some wheat that people in the affected region consumed caused the sudden hair loss due to its high selenium level. Amid claims of not having any conclusive evidence to link high selenium levels in wheat distributed through ration shops with sudden hair loss, ICMR’s confirmation after conducting a study of the specific demography has raised concerns regarding the safety of the popular food item.

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Earlier, there were reports of cases of high levels of selenium in wheat distributed by Public Distribution System (PDS) outlets, with increased selenium causing hair loss in over 300 people in Shegaon village between end-December 2024 and January this year.

A team of scientists from ICMR institutes and AIIMS Delhi visited three villages and collected samples from people affected and unaffected by sudden hair loss from January 14 to 17. Samples of wheat and rice from affected and unaffected households and from ration shops were collected. Samples from water and soil were also collected.

The samples were then sent for testing to ICMR-National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH) in Bhopal and AIIMS Delhi. Notably, the ICMR found high selenium content in blood and hair samples of the affected people. The interim report submitted to the Health Ministry by ICMR explained that the amount of selenium in the blood of affected people was 31 times higher than the control. It also found that the selenium content was higher in wheat samples collected from two ration shops, reported The Hindu.

The water samples test conducted for at least 12 heavy metals showed that all were in permissible limits. The probe then analyzed that the high selenium level in wheat caused hair loss.

The report noted that it found high levels of selenium in wheat both in ration shops and in the households of affected people, establishing the link between the wheat distributed by ration shops and high selenium.

However, the report further pointed out that the exposure to high-level selenium could be for a short time, as people who continued to consume the wheat distributed by ration shops experienced hair regrowth. It is observed that only a few sacks of wheat contained high selenium, the report claimed.

It is also important to note that the sudden hair loss cases were reported only in 12 to 15 villages, supporting the hypothesis that only a few sacks of wheat could have been contaminated with high selenium elements. Notably, many are flagging the government’s indifference in taking action and addressing the locals’ concerns in connection with the incident.

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Following the reports of hair loss, Dr. Himmatrao Bawaskar, a Padma Shri awardee physician known for his work on treating scorpion stings, conducted a month-long research study and found that the wheat sold in government ration or PDS stores brought in from Punjab and Haryana had perilously high levels of selenium. He pointed out that while selenium protects our bodies from being oxidized and supports thyroid hormone function, excess selenium can lead to a disorder called sclerosis, resulting in hair loss, brittle nails, skin issues, and other medical conditions.

Selenium needs to be in minimum amounts in the body, but its excess would poison the body with loss of hair, disturbing the operation of hair follicles.

Dr. Bawaskar, in an interview with India Today, noted that the foothills of the Shivalik range go up to Punjab and Haryana, and selenium naturally occurs in range rocks, and when rainwater occurs, range rocks become dissolved by rainwater and transport selenium-bearing sediments.