title: Iodine knowledge is positively associated with dietary iodine intake among women of childbearing age in the UK and Ireland.
abstract: Adequate I intake is important before conception and during pregnancy for optimal infant neurodevelopment. Recent studies have highlighted the prevalence of I deficiency in the UK and Ireland. It is possible that optimal I intake may be impeded by a poor knowledge of I nutrition. This study aimed to investigate I knowledge among women of childbearing age in the UK and Ireland and to determine whether a relationship exists between I knowledge and dietary I intake. Females (aged 18-45 years) were invited to complete an online questionnaire, which assessed knowledge of I and estimated dietary I intake using a FFQ. A total of 520 females of childbearing age completed the study. I knowledge was poor; only one-third (32 %) of the participants correctly identified pregnancy as the most important stage of the lifecycle for I, and 41 % of participants could not correctly identify any health problem related to I deficiency. The median daily I intake was estimated as 152 µg/d. Almost half (46 %) of the participants failed to meet dietary recommendations (140 µg/d) for I. A higher dietary I intake was positively associated with greater I knowledge (r0·107;P=0·016). This study suggests that knowledge of I nutrition is low among women of childbearing age, and those with a greater knowledge of I nutrition had a higher dietary I intake. Initiatives to educate women of childbearing age on the importance of I nutrition should be considered as part of a larger public health strategy to address I deficiency.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: S Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: O'Kane
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: L Kirsty
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Pourshahidi
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Kayla M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Farren
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Maria S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mulhern
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Strain
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Alison J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Yeates
keywords: Dietary iodine intake; Iodine; Iodine knowledge; Women of childbearing age