Insufficient iodine status in pregnant women as a consequence of dietary changes.

• Published in: Food & Nutrition Research
• Main Authors: Adalsteinsdottir, Solveig, Tryggvadottir, Ellen Alma, Hrolfsdottir, Laufey, Halldorsson, Thorhallur I, Birgisdottir, Bryndis Eva, Hreidarsdottir, Ingibjorg Th, Hardardottir, Hildur, Arohonka, Petra, Erlund, Iris, Gunnarsdottir, Ingibjorg
• Other Authors: 1Unit for Nutrition Research, Landspitali University Hospital and Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland. 2Institution of Health Science Research, University of Akureyri and Akureyri Hospital, Akureyri, Iceland. 3Centre for Fetal Programming, Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavík, Iceland. 5Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland Reykjavík, Iceland. 6Forensic Toxicology Unit, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Swedish Nutrition Foundation 2020
• Subjects: Iodine; dairy; fish; pregnancy; supplements; Joð; Meðganga; Mataræði; Diet; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/621278; https://doi.org/10.29219/fnr.v64.3653

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Download Background: Historically, Iceland has been an iodine-sufficient nation due to notably high fish and milk consumption. Recent data suggest that the intake of these important dietary sources of iodine has decreased considerably. Objective: To evaluate the iodine status of pregnant women in Iceland and to determine dietary factors associated with risk for deficiency. Methods: Subjects were women (n = 983; 73% of the eligible sample) attending their first ultrasound appointment in gestational weeks 11-14 in the period October 2017-March 2018. Spot urine samples were collected for assessment of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and creatinine. The ratio of iodine to creatinine (I/Cr) was calculated. Median UIC was compared with the optimal range of 150-249 μg/L defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Diet was assessed using a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which provided information on main dietary sources of iodine in the population studied (dairy and fish). Results: The median UIC (95% confidence interval (CI)) and I/Cr of the study population was 89 μg/L (42, 141) and 100 (94, 108) μg/g, respectively. UIC increased with higher frequency of dairy intake, ranging from median UIC of 55 (35, 79) μg/L for women consuming dairy products <1 time per week to 124 (98, 151) μg/L in the group consuming dairy >2 times per day (P for trend <0.001). A small group of women reporting complete avoidance of fish (n = 18) had UIC of 50 (21, 123) μg/L and significantly lower I/Cr compared with those who did not report avoidance of fish (58 (34, 134) μg/g vs. 100 (94, 108) μg/g, P = 0.041). Women taking supplements containing iodine (n = 34, 3.5%) had significantly higher UIC compared with those who did not take supplements (141 (77, 263) μg/L vs. 87 (82, 94), P = 0.037). Conclusion: For the first time, insufficient ...