Iodine nutrition and thyroid function assessment in childbearing age women from Queretaro, Mexico.
OBJECTIVE
To assess iodine nutrition and thyroid function in Mexican childbearing age women.


METHODS
101 childbearing age women (21.7 ± 3.5 years) randomly selected from the university student population participated in this cross-sectional study. TSH, thyroid hormones, anti-thyroid antibodies, thyroid volume, iodine intake, and urinary iodine concentration (UIC) were assessed. The knowledge about the importance of iodine in nutrition was also evaluated by using questionnaires.


RESULTS
TSH median (interquartile range) value was 1.9 (1.4-2.5) mIU/L, while FT4 median value was 9.0 (8.3- 9.6) μg/dL. The median FT3 and total rT3 values were 3.3 pg/mL and 40.1 ng/dL, respectively. The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (serum TSH >4.5 mIU/L) and of positive anti-thyroid antibodies were 2.9% and <5.9%, respectively. Median thyroid volume was 5.6 mL and none of the subjects were diagnosed with goiter. Median urinary iodine concentration was 146 (104-180) μg/L. As for the knowledge of iodine nutrition, only 37.6% considered that a pregnant woman needs more dietary iodine than a non pregnant woman, while 43.6% recognized that the lack of iodine can cause mental retardation in children.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of thyroid test function abnormalities was low in this population and the median UIC indicates adequate iodine intake. We also found a poor knowledge about the importance iodine nutrition in the studied population.
Departmento de Investigación Biomédica. Facultad de Medicina. Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro (UAQ). Querétaro. México.. pablo.garcia@uaq.mx.
Lorena
L
Méndez-Villa
Juana Elizabeth
JE
Elton-Puente
Juan Carlos
JC
Solís-S
Eduardo
E
Sampson-Zaldívar
Carlota
C
García-G
Patricia
P
Villalobos
Ana
A
Colarossi
Olga Patricia
OP
García
Ludivina
L
Robles-Osorio
Pablo
P
García-Solís
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007455:Iodine; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D013334:Students; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D055815:Young Adult
D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D007455:Iodine