title: Effect of Nitrates, Thiocyanates and Selenium on the Iron and Iodine Status of Postpartum Women.
abstract: To find correlations between high thiocyanate and nitrate levels and low selenium levels and the indicators of the iodine and iron status of postpartum women.
  
  
  
  The study included 41 mothers aged 26.4±5.9 yrs from Asenovgrad and nearby villages. Urinary iodine was determined by the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction and thiocyanate - by the interaction of these ions with acidic solution of KMnO4; for serum nitrates we used the colorimetric method; serum selenium was assessed by electro-thermal atomic-absorption spectrophotometry; thyroxin (FT4), the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), serum ferritin (SF), and serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) were determined using ELISA; Hb levels were determined by hematology analyzer.
  
  
  
  Assessing the iodine status, we found a negative correlation between the levels of iodine and thiocyanates in urine (R=-0.717, р<0.0001), a positive correlation between nitrates and TSH (R=0.487, р=0.003) and a negative correlation between nitrates and FT4 (R=-0.312, р=0.06). For the iron status, we found a negative correlation between nitrates and SF (R=-0.429, р=0.009) and between nitrates and Hb (R=-0.383, р=0.021). The Mann-Whitney U-test showed that in women with nitrate levels higher than the mean value there was low FT4 level (р=0.06), high TSH level (р=0.013), low Hb concentration (р=0.061) and low SF concentration (р=0.005). The combined effects of environmental factors (elevated nitrate levels and low selenium level) on the iodine and iron status are manifested by low concentrations of FT4 (р=0.033), Hb (р=0.06) and SF (р=0.05) and high level of TSH (р=0.05). In conclusion, we found that environmental factors, especially when combined, have a negative impact on the iron and iodine status of females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
authors.forename: Anelia V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Bivolarska
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
authors.forename: Ana I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Maneva
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene and Eco-medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
authors.forename: Penka D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Gatseva
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
authors.forename: Mariana N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Katsarova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D002031:Bulgaria; D003124:Colorimetry; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007455:Iodine / Q000652:urine*; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D009566:Nitrates / Q000097:blood*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin / Q000097:blood; D012643:Selenium / Q000097:blood*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013861:Thiocyanates / Q000652:urine*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D009566:Nitrates; D011990:Receptors, Transferrin; D013861:Thiocyanates; D013972:Thyrotropin; D007455:Iodine; D007501:Iron; D012643:Selenium; D013974:Thyroxine