Iodine: Characteristics, sources, implications
Iodine: Characteristics, Sources and Health Implications, NOVA Publications , ss.135-142, 2012
- Yayın Türü: Kitapta Bölüm / Araştırma Kitabı
- Basım Tarihi: 2012
- Yayınevi: NOVA Publications
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.135-142
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Iodine, Iodine deficiency, Iodine deficiency disorders, Public health
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Iodine is an important trace element and an essential substrate for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Iodination of salt is used globally as it is not possible to ingest enough iodine through food. Iodized salt ensures an iodine intake of approximately 100-150 μg iodine per day, if a normal amount of salt is consumed. However, iodized salt is not a stable food and can be degraded if boiled or exposed to direct light. Iodine deficiency (ID) can lead to goiter, hypothyroidism, mental retardation, and impaired growth. The evidence indicates that iodine deficiency exists in some countries, leading to clinical problems of transient neonatal hypothyroidism, goitrogenesis, thyroid nodules, and thyroid disorders in pregnant women and neonates, as well as thyroid dysfunction in the elderly. Due to the importance of thyroid hormone-dependent processes, iodine deficiency has deleterious effects on individuals, especially pregnant women and growing children. The clinical and subclinical manifestations of iodine deficiency are collectively referred to as iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). Iodine deficiency disorder is a serious global public health problem, estimated to affect one billion people worldwide. Although North American populations are believed not to suffer from ID, 36% of the female population in their reproductive years have been found to suffer from this condition. Even more important is the fact that midwives and nurses and even obstetricians are not fully aware of this disorder and cannot provide preventive health services to pregnant and fertile women regarding iodine intake. However, it has been possible to develop such awareness for preventing disorders such as folic acid deficiency.Severe iodine deficiency disorders have been eradicated in many parts of the world, but milder forms still exist and may escape detection. Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) represents one of the most common preventable causes of mental retardation. If prompt treatment is delayed, irreversible mental retardation, growth failure and a variety of neurophysiological deficits develop in affected infants. In clinical practice, we face a large number of patients at various ages with disorders causing elevated TSH levels, i.e. transient neonatal hypothyroidism, goiter, thyroid nodules and thyroid disorders in pregnant women and neonates. WHO recommends using several indicators to assess the iodine status of a population: thyroid size by palpation and/or by ultrasonography, urinary iodine and blood constituents, TSH or thyrotropin, and thyroglobulin. We are able to prevent the consequences of low iodine and the fetal neurodevelopmental risk due to subtle thyroid hormone deficiency during pregnancy and the newborn period. Salt iodination is very important for preventing iodine deficiency disorders. © 2012 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.