Analysis of urinary iodine levels in normal pregnant Chinese women in four districts

Abstract

Objective To analyze the median urinary iodine(MUI)level in normal pregnant women based on World HeMth Organization(WHO) recommended criterion,and to provide the MUI reference values for monitoring and evaluating iodine nutrition during pregnancy and related studies.Methods Total 604 normal pregnant and 192 non-pregnant women(as a comparison)were selected from a cross-sectional survey.These women were all healthy,iodine sufficient,with normal thyroid function,and negative anti-thyroid antibodies.The iodine content in drinking water,edible salt,and urine was determined by standard methods,and serum TSH,FT4,FT3,thyroid peroxidaseantibody(TPOAb),and thyroglobulin antibody(TgAb)were measured using chemiluminescent immunoassay.Resuits (1)The iodine in drinking water was 3.0μg/L indicating such small amount of iodine could be neglected for daily iodine intake.(2)All women consumed iodized salt with the median iodine in salt of 31.7 mg/kg.The daily iodine intake of at least 240 μg could be roughly estimated if an average of 10 g salt was taken per person per day and further subtracted by 20%iodine lost during cooking,which could meet the iodine needs during pregnancy.(3)The MUI of 173.1μg/L was calculated from 604 pregnant women having 174.5,167.0,and 180.7 μg/L during the first,second,and third trimesters,respectively,reaching the optimal level of 150-249 μg/L recommended by WHO for pregnant women.However,our data showed relatively lower levels,not reaching 200μg/L.The MUI of 240.2μg/L was calculated from 192 non-pregnant women,reaching the level ofabove requirement(200-299μg/L) recommended by WHO for adults.(4)All women were euthyroid and antibody-negative,but the TSH level in pregnant women was lower than that in non-pregnant women,in particular during the first trimester,while FT4 and FT3 were considerably decreased compared with the non-pregnant(with an exception of FT4 in the first trimester),and both gradually declined with the gestational age.Conclusions The optimal MUI level of 150-249 μg/,L recommended by WHO can be applied to pregnant Chinese women,but our data provided a relatively low range of 150-200μ/L throughout pregnancy.The higher MUI of 240.2μg/L in non-pregnant women indicated that iodized salt with different contents should be supplied on market to meet the requirement of different groups of population. Key words: Pregnant women; Median urinary iodine; Iodized salt; Reference Values