Abstract
Aims: The iodine status during pregnancy, its dependency on dietary habits, geographical and racial origin and length of permanence in our country were studied.
Design and methods: We enrolled 322 consecutive pregnant women: 217 Italians, 62 East-Europeans and 43 of North and Central African origin. Each women filled in a food frequency questionnaire concerning dietary habits. Urinary iodide concentration (UIC) was determined in morning spot urine samples.
Results: In the whole cohort, the median UIC was 83 ?g/l, a UIC <50 was present in 33% and a UIC of 150 ?g/l or above in 27%; there was a significant decrease of UIC in Africans and East Europeans by comparison with Italians (median 45 and 46 versus 100 ?g/l respectively, p=0.005). There was a significant correlation between UIC and the length of permanence in Italy (r= 0.22, p=0.02). A significant link emerged between UIC and cow milk intake (p=0.0001). Iodine-containing supplements were used by 40% of women, UIC values were higher in women using them by comparison with those who did not (median 103 versus 75 ?g/l, p=0.03), particularly in not milk-drinking ones (median 98 versus 42 ?g/l, p=0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that milk is the only variable influencing UIC (OR 1.29, p=0.0005).
Conclusions: 1) the iodine status is not sufficient in pregnant women of our region, particularly in foreign ones; 2) cow milk intake proves to be the main source of iodine, 3) the use of iodine-containing supplements is mandatory during pregnancy, in particular when women do not drink milk.