Background: Iodine deficiency during pregnancy may have adverse effects on the neurodevelopment of the foetus. Recent studies of pregnant women in Asturias (Spain) indicate that nutritional iodine levels are sufficient. The objective of this study was to confirm the appropriate nutritional iodine status and to analyse the influence of the ingestion of iodine on maternal urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and thyroid function.
Methods: An observational study was carried out between May and June 2017 on women in the first trimester of pregnancy from Health Area IV in Asturias. The women completed a questionnaire related to their consumption of iodine and samples were taken to analyse UIC and thyroid function.
Results: Three hundred and eighteen pregnant women were involved. Of these, 51.10% used iodised salt, 48.90% consumed ≥ 2 servings of dairy products daily and 87.08% took iodine supplements. The median UIC was 171.5 μg/L (116-265 μg/L) and 60.41% of women had UIC ≥ 150 μg/L. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that iodised salt had a protective effect on UIC < 150 μg/L (odds ratio (OR) 0.404 (0.237-0.683), p = 0.001), but not iodine supplements (OR 0.512 (0.240-1.085), p = 0.080). The average level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was 2.26 ± 0.94 mIU/L; 68.40% of pregnant women taking iodine supplements had TSH < 2.5 mIU/L compared to 30.00% of those who were not taking supplements (p = 0.031).
Conclusions: The pregnant women in our health area are maintaining appropriate nutritional iodine levels. The consumption of iodised salt protects against iodine deficiency; thus, iodine supplements should be taken on an individualised basis.
Keywords: iodine; iodine nutrition state; iodine supplements; iodised salt; pregnancy; thyroid function; urinary iodine concentration.