Assessment of current iodine status of pregnant women in a suburban area of Imo State Nigeria, twelve years after universal salt iodization

Abstract

Three hundred and two pregnant women participated in this study. Our results showed that the range, mean and median urinary iodine excretion (UIE) were 28.1 to 218.1, 152.09 ± 41.65 and 163.1 µg/l, respectively. The range, mean and median TSH concentration were 0.7 - 5.9, 1.4 ± 0.7 and 1.3 µIU/ml, respectively. Our results showed that none of the women have severe iodine deficiency, 2% had moderate iodine deficiency, 12% had mild iodine deficiency, while 80% had optimal iodine nutrition and 6% have more than adequate. We observed a progressive and significant (P = 0.0009) decrease in the mean UIE from the 1st to the 3rd trimester. We observed also that 95% of the pregnant women had TSH concentration within the normal range. The TSH values between the three trimesters showed no significant difference (P = 1.20). The Urinary Iodine Excretion and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone concentration values suggest that iodine deficiency has been eliminated as a public health problem in Orlu. The progressive decrease in the median UIE from the 1st to the 3rd trimester should be addressed to meet the increased demand of iodine as a result of the pregnancy. Key words: Urinary iodine, thyroid stimulating hormone, iodine deficiency, hyperthyroidism, pregnant women, Orlu, Nigeria.