title: Population Survey of Iodine Deficiency and Environmental Disruptors of Thyroid Function in Young Children in Haiti.
abstract: Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable neurodevelopmental delay in children worldwide and a possible public health concern in Haiti.
  
  
  
  To determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency in Haitian young children and its influence by environmental factors.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional study, March through June 2015.
  
  
  
  Community churches in 3 geographical regions in Haiti.
  
  
  
  299 healthy Haitian children aged 9 months to 6 years; one-third each enrolled in a coastal, mountainous, and urban region.
  
  
  
  Urinary iodide, serum thyrotropin (TSH), goiter assessment, and urinary perchlorate and thiocyanate.
  
  
  
  Mean age was 3.3±1.6 years, with 51% female, median family income USD 30/week, and 16% malnutrition. Median urinary iodide levels were normal in coastal (145 μg/L, interquartile range [IQR] 97 to 241) and urban regions (187 μg/L, IQR 92 to 316), but revealed mild iodine deficiency in a mountainous region (89 μg/L, IQR 56 to 129), P < 0.0001. Grade 1 goiters were palpated in 2 children, but TSH values were normal. Urinary thiocyanate and perchlorate concentrations were not elevated. Predictors of higher urinary iodide included higher urinary thiocyanate and perchlorate, breastfeeding, and not living in a mountainous region.
  
  
  
  Areas of mild iodine deficiency persist in Haiti's mountainous regions. Exposure to two well-understood environmental thyroid function disruptors is limited.
authors: Division of Endocrinology, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec H4A 3J1, Canada.
authors: Julia E
authors: JE
authors: von Oettingen
authors: University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9OS, United Kingdom.
authors: Tesha D
authors: TD
authors: Brathwaite
authors: University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143.
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Carpenter
authors: Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, Austin, Texas 78723.
authors: Ric
authors: R
authors: Bonnell
authors: Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118.
authors: Xuemei
authors: X
authors: He
authors: Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118.
authors: Lewis E
authors: LE
authors: Braverman
authors: Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118.
authors: Elizabeth N
authors: EN
authors: Pearce
authors: Fondation Haïtienne de Diabète et de Maladies Cardiovasculaires, Port au Prince HT6112, Haiti; and.
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Larco
authors: Fondation Haïtienne de Diabète et de Maladies Cardiovasculaires, Port au Prince HT6112, Haiti; and.
authors: Nancy Charles
authors: NC
authors: Larco
authors: Fondation Haïtienne de Diabète et de Maladies Cardiovasculaires, Port au Prince HT6112, Haiti; and.
authors: Eddy
authors: E
authors: Jean-Baptiste
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
authors: Rosalind S
authors: RS
authors: Brown
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003677:Deficiency Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000652:urine; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000652:urine*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006205:Haiti / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007455:Iodine / Q000172:deficiency / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D010472:Perchlorates / Q000652:urine*; D013861:Thiocyanates / Q000652:urine*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010472:Perchlorates; D013861:Thiocyanates; D013972:Thyrotropin; D007455:Iodine; C031760:thiocyanate; C494474:perchlorate