Abstract
Iodine is an essential nutrient for growth and development during infancy. Data on iodine status of exclusively (EBF) and partially breastfed (PBF) infants as well as breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) are scarce. We aimed to assess (a) infant iodine nutrition at the age of 5.5 months by measuring urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in EBF (n = 32) and PBF (n = 28) infants and (b) mothers' breast milk iodine concentration (n = 57). Sixty mother–infant pairs from three primary health care centres in Reykjavik and vicinities provided urine and breast milk samples for iodine analysis and information on mothers' habitual diet. The mother–infant pairs were participants of the IceAge2 study, which focuses on factors contributing to infant growth and development, including body composition and breast‐milk energy content. The median (25th–75th percentiles) UIC was 152 (79–239) μg/L, with no significant difference between EBF and PBF infants. The estimated median iodine intake ranged from 52 to 86 μg/day, based on urinary data (assuming an average urine volume of 300–500 ml/day and UIC from the present study). The median (25th–75th percentiles) BMIC was 84 (48–114) μg/L. It is difficult to conclude whether iodine status is adequate in the present study, as no ranges for median UIC reflecting optimal iodine nutrition exist for infants. However, the results add important information to the relatively sparse literature on UIC, BMIC, and iodine intake of breastfed infants.
Highlights
It is difficult to conclude whether iodine status is adequate in the present study, as no ranges for median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) reflecting optimal iodine nutrition exist for infants
This cut-off is based on criteria for assessing iodine nutrition of older children (WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD, 2007), and currently, no ranges for median UIC reflecting optimal iodine nutrition exist for infants
Estimated median iodine intake of the infants in the present study was 52–86 μg/day based on UIC and 67–71 μg/day based on breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC)
Summary
The aim of this study was to assess infant iodine nutrition at the age of 5.5 months, by measuring infant UIC in EBF and partially breastfed (PBF) infants as well as BMIC
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