Assessment of iodine deficiency in certain regions of Russia

Development of new methods of investigation modified the approaches to epidemiological analysis of diseases associated with iodine deficiency. Iodine deficiency was evaluated by the level of iodine in environmental objects, while iodine consumption by man was neglected. Today it is recommended to measure urinary iodine excretion Instead of measuring it in water and soil. More than 80% iodine is excreted through the kidneys, and therefore, iodine concentration in the urine reflects its consumption with food. This method of evaluating iodine deficiency has not been used in Russia before.

We evaluated the prevalence of iodine deficiency in Russia, tried a method for measuring urinary iodine concentrations, and introduced it into practice. Iodine was measured in a portion of urine by the cerium arsenite method.

Studies were carried out in 10853 children in 25 regions of Russia. Iodine deficiency of different severity was detected in all regions. Actual iodine consumption by children is 40—80 mcg/day, while the WHO-approved norm is 150 mcg/day. The lowest iodine concentrations were observed in the rural residents (30— 58 mcg/liter); in the urban residents the median of iodine concentration was higher (50—78 mcg/liter, vs. the norm — 100 mcg/liter).

Iodine deficiency was more expressed in Eastern regions of Russia, where medium iodine deficiency predominated (30—52 mcg/liter), and in some regions severe iodine deficiency (16—20 mcg/liter) was observed. Regular intake of 100 mcg potassium iodide normalized the median of iodine concentration in the urine and notably reduced the number of children with low urinary iodine concentrations.

iodine deficiency, urinary iodine concentration, Eastern regions of Russia

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