Dietary iodine intake and the association with subclinical thyroid dysfunction in male workers

Abstract

The prevalence rate of thyroid dysfunction (hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism) has increased within the Korean population and seems to be affected by iodine dietary habits. Some studies reported that the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction increase both in the area of iodine deficiency and excess. In this study, we tried to discover the difference in iodine intake, anthropometric measurements, and blood parameters between male subjects with or without subclinical thyroid dysfunction. A total of 5,249 subjects (Euthyroid: 4706, SubHypo: 454, SubHyper: 89) were used in this study. There were no significant differences in BMI, body fat, visceral fat, waist circumference, SBP, DBP, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, TG, fasting serum glucose, HbA1c, alcohol intake, however significant differences were noticed in both age and smoking status. Through a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), iodine intake per day was estimated. The average iodine intake was similar (SubHypo 392.9 ± 279.0 µg, Euthyroid 376.5 ± 281.7 µg, SubHyper 357.3 ± 253.8 µg) among groups. The main source of iodine intake was eggs (52.8%, 54.2%, 52.4%) followed by milk (16.3%, 15.8%, 17.8%), then sea mustard & sea tangle (12.4%, 11.9%, 11.6%). The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism was higher in subjects whose intake was higher than the recommended nutrient intake (RNI). These results suggest that the excess consumption of iodine intake may act as one of the risk factors regarding thyroid dysfunction in Korea. Therefore, an adequate amount of iodine intake is necessary in order to prevent subclinical thyroid dysfunction and clinical thyroid dysfunction. (Korean J Nutr 2012; 45(3): 218 ~ 228)