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. 2018 Apr 20;10(4):513.
doi: 10.3390/nu10040513.

Iodine Deficiency in a Study Population of Norwegian Pregnant Women-Results from the Little in Norway Study (LiN)

Lisbeth Dahl  1 , Maria Wik Markhus  2 , Perla Vanessa Roldan Sanchez  3   4 , Vibeke Moe  5 , Lars Smith  6 , Helle Margrete Meltzer  7 , Marian Kjellevold  8
Affiliations

Iodine Deficiency in a Study Population of Norwegian Pregnant Women-Results from the Little in Norway Study (LiN)

Lisbeth Dahl et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Iodine sufficiency is particularly important in pregnancy, where median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in the range of 150⁻250 µg/L indicates adequate iodine status. The aims of this study were to determine UIC and assess if dietary and maternal characteristics influence the iodine status in pregnant Norwegian women. The study comprises a cross-sectional population-based prospective cohort of pregnant women (Little in Norway (LiN)). Median UIC in 954 urine samples was 85 µg/L and 78.4% of the samples (n = 748) were ≤150 µg/L. 23.2% (n = 221) of the samples were ≤50 µg/L and 5.2% (n = 50) were above the requirements of iodine intake (>250 µg/L). Frequent iodine-supplement users (n = 144) had significantly higher UIC (120 µg/L) than non-frequent users (75 µg/L). Frequent milk and dairy product consumers (4⁻9 portions/day) had significantly higher UIC (99 µg/L) than women consuming 0⁻1 portion/day (57 µg/L) or 2⁻3 portions/day (83 µg/L). Women living in mid-Norway (n = 255) had lowest UIC (72 µg/L). In conclusion, this study shows that the diet of the pregnant women did not necessarily secure a sufficient iodine intake. There is an urgent need for public health strategies to secure adequate iodine nutrition among pregnant women in Norway.

Keywords: iodine status; iodine to creatinine ratio; milk and dairy products; pregnant; seafood; supplement; urinary iodine concentration.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of study participants in the current study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of spot urinary iodine concentration (UIC) (µg/L) (blue bars) and urinary iodine to creatinine ratio (UI/Cr) (µg/g) (green bars) in the study population (n = 954) according to WHO epidemiological criteria [8].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Assignments of the pregnant women into tertiles of urinary iodine concentration (µg/L). (Tertile 1; 0–50 µg/L, tertile 2: >50–150 µg/L, and tertile 3: >150 µg/L). Values above 300 are not included in the figure (n = 30).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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