Public HealthBritish Thyroid Association Survey To Assess Levels Of Dietary Iodine In The UK
The British Thyroid Association (BTA) has organised a survey of 14-15 year old girls in the UK to assess levels of iodine in their diet. Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones which help to control the body"s metabolism. Iodine deficiency has substantial effects on growth and development and is a leading cause of preventable mental retardation worldwide. Concern has recently been expressed over the UK iodine status, which has led the BTA and the British Thyroid Foundation, with generous financial support from the Clinical Endocrinology Trust, to carry out this study to assess iodine levels in young females throughout the UK.
The study focuses on young female subjects aged 14-15 years and will assess urinary iodine levels in 1200 children from 10 participating centres throughout the UK (Aberdeen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne/Gateshead, Sheffield, Birmingham, Dundee, Exeter, London, Cardiff, Belfast and Glasgow). Such results can be used to classify a population"s iodine status1. Help from sympathetic teachers, local medical officers and school nurses is being sought, and motivational tools include using the study as a school project, a presentation on the role and importance of the thyroid gland, and the impact of iodine deficiency worldwide.
This week King Edward VIth Handsworth School for Girls in Birmingham became the first school to enthusiastically participate in the study. It is expected that the results from the UK survey will be available in Autumn 2009. Further details can be found on the BTA website: http://www.british-thyroid-association.org/news/.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that two billion people, including 285 million school-age children still have iodine deficiency despite major national and international efforts to increase iodine intake, primarily through the addition of iodine to table salt. The ideal dietary allowance of iodine recommended by World Health Organisation WHO is 150ç¬g of iodine per day, which increases to 250ç¬g in pregnancy and 290ç¬g when lactating.
Professor Jayne Franklyn, President of the British Thyroid Association said:
"Sufficient iodine in the diet is crucial for normal growth and neurological development. Iodine deficiency, especially during pregnancy, can lead to varying levels of mental retardation. This survey is being conducted amid recent concerns over the UK iodine status, following reports conducted in the US and continental Europe. The results of this study will strengthen monitoring and evaluation of a future ongoing national programme documenting the UK iodine status and for the prevention and control of possible iodine deficiency in the UK."
Notes
1. World Health Organisation/International Council for the Control of the Iodine Deficiency Disorders/United Nations Children"s Fund (WHO/ICCIDD/UNICEF). Assessment of the iodine deficiency disorders and monitoring their elimination. WHO/NHD/01.1. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 2001.
The British Thyroid Association is a non-profit making Learned Society of professional clinical specialist doctors and scientists in the United Kingdom who manage patients with thyroid disease and/or are researching into the thyroid and its diseases in humans.
The British Thyroid Foundation (BTF) is a national charity that works with medical professionals to provide information and support to people with thyroid disorders. For more information please visit the BTF website: http://www.btf-thyroid.org/.
Further information on the iodine survey can be found on the BTA website:http://www.british-thyroid-association.org/news/.
British Thyroid Association