Iodine status, including breastmilk iodine content, of lactating mothers and their infants aged 0 to 6 months in Vhembe and Mopani districts of the Limpopo province, South Africa

Background. Both iodine deficiency and excess may affect lactating women and their infants. In Limpopo Province, South Africa (SA), there are no data on the iodine status of individuals in these vulnerable groups. Objective. To determine the iodine status, including breastmilk iodine content, of lactating mothers and their infants aged 0-6 months in Vhembe and Mopani districts, Limpopo, SA. Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study in the quantitative domain was undertaken in Vhembe and Mopani districts. Mother-infant pairs were randomly selected. Breastmilk iodine content (BMIC), urinary iodine content (UIC) of infants, UIC of mothers, household (HH) salt iodine content (SIC) and water iodine content (WIC). The iodine nutrition knowledge of mothers was determined. Results. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) of BMIC among lactating mothers in Vhembe and Mopani was 102 (62-179.7) µg/L and 150.4 (89.4-201.7) µg/L, respectively. The median (IQR) UIC of mothers in Vhembe and Mopani was 96.3 (54.8-154.8) µg/L and 137.9 (72-212.4) µg/L, respectively. The median UIC of infants was 217.7 (107.1-409.9) and 339.8 (162.9-490.3) µg/L in Vhembe and Mopani, respectively. There was a significant difference between SIC of coarse and fine salt in both districts. Lactating mothers in both areas had limited iodine nutrition knowledge. Conclusion. The results suggest that iodised salt is a major contributor to iodine status in lactating mothers and their infants. Our results also show that the salt iodisation programme in SA supplies sufficient iodine for children, women of reproductive age, lactating mothers and breastfed infants.</p

Effects of rising food prices on household food security on femaleheaded households in Runnymede Village, Mopani District, South Africa

CITATION: Mkhawani, K., et al. 2016. Effects of rising food prices on household food security on femaleheaded households in Runnymede Village, Mopani District, South Africa. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 29(2):69-74.The original publication is available at http://www.sajcn.co.zaBackground: Rising food prices can have a devastating effect on the health of poor households by making it more difficult for them to afford basic food baskets. Although South Africa is food secure as a nation, it does not mean that every household is able to access nutritionally adequate food. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the effects of rising food prices on people’s perceptions and coping strategies regarding household food security. Setting: Sixty femaleheaded households were selected from 250 households in Runnymede Village in the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality, Mopani District, Limpopo province, South Africa. Design: A descriptive and exploratory study was conducted using quantitative methods by means of an administered, structured questionnaire. The accessible population was femaleheaded households residing in Runnymede Village. Participants representing 60 femaleheaded households were purposively selected from the 250 households. Open and closed-ended questions were used to collect the data. Results: The majority (58%) of participants indicated that their eating habits had changed owing to rising food prices. Approximately 60% of the participants indicated that they bought food in bulk as a shortterm strategy to cope with rising food prices. Approximately 50% had a vegetable garden to alleviate food unavailability, and harvested for subsistence to meet non-food expenses. The majority (57%) of participants converted to buying cheaper brands, such as generic store brands. In addition, rising food prices made high quality food scarce for poorer households, forcing them to resort to cheaper or less nutritious foods. Conclusion: Rising food prices had a negative impact on poor, femaleheaded households in Runnymede Village.http://www.sajcn.co.za/index.php/SAJCN/article/view/994Publisher's versio

Iodine status of pregnant women and children age 6 to 12 years feeding from the same food basket in Mopani district, Limpopo province, South Africa

CITATION: Mabasa, E. et al. 2019. Iodine status of pregnant women and children age 6 to 12 years feeding from the same food basket in Mopani district, Limpopo province, South Africa. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 32(3):76-82. doi:10.1080/16070658.2018.1449370The original publication is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ojcn20/currentObjectives: The aim of the study was to assess the iodine status of pregnant women and children age 6 to 12 years feeding from the same food basket in Mopani District. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Setting: The setting was primary health care clinics and households from five municipalities of Mopani District in Limpopo province. Subjects: A total of 565 conveniently selected pregnant women and 116 children aged 6 to 12 years were recruited, of which 116 were mother–child pairs. Methods: The demographic information, iodine nutrition knowledge and salt consumption patterns were obtained using a validated questionnaire. Spot urine, household drinking water and salt samples were collected and analysed for iodine using standard procedures. A professional nurse, using filter paper to determine thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, collected spot finger-stick blood samples from pregnant women. Results: The findings showed that only 52.5% of household salt had an iodine concentration level of more than and equal to 15 ppm. The median iodine concentration of household drinking water was 46.2 μg/l (interquartile range [IQR] 10.8–73.4 μg/l). The TSH levels of the majority of pregnant women were normal and the maternal overall median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was 164 μg/l (IQR 92–291 μg/l), indicating maternal iodine sufficiency. However, median UIC in the first and third trimesters was below 150 μg/l, indicating iodine insufficiency. The UIC level of children in the study was 386 μg/l (IQR 200–525 μg/l), signifying iodine excess. Conclusion: Iodine status of pregnant women in this study was sufficient, with UIC for children excessively high, more than two times higher than the iodine status of pregnant women. The reasons for the excessive UIC in school-age children need to be elucidated.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16070658.2018.1449370Publisher’s versio

Treatment of iodine deficiency in school-age children increases 1GF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations and improvves somatic growth

Objective: To determine if iodine repletion improves somatic growth in iodine-deficient children and to investigate the role of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-3 in this effect. Design, participants, and interventions: Three prospective, double blind intervention studies were done: 1) in a 10 month study, severely iodine-deficient, 7-10 y-old Moroccan children (n = 71) were provided iodized salt and compared with children not using iodized salt; 2) in a 6 month study, moderately iodine-deficient, 10-12 y-old Albanian children (n = 310) were given 400 mg iodine as oral iodized oil or placebo; 3) in a 6 month study, mildly iodine-deficient 5-14 y-old South African children (n = 188) were given two doses of 200 mg iodine as oral iodized oil or placebo. At baseline and follow-up, height, weight, urinary iodine (UI), total thyroxine (TT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and IGF-I were measured; in Albania and South Africa, IGFBP-3 was also measured. Results: In all three studies, iodine treatment increased median UI to >100 µg/L, while median UI in the controls remained unchanged. In South Africa, iodine repletion modestly increased IGF-1, but did not have a significant effect on IGFBP-3, TT4 or growth. In Albania and Morocco, iodine repletion significantly increased TT4, IGF-1, IGFBP-3, weight-for-age z scores and height-for-age z scores. Conclusion: This is the first controlled study to clearly demonstrate that iodine repletion in school-age children increases IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations and improves somatic growth