Bath, S. C.

Combet, E.

Rayman, M. P.

Scully, P.

Zimmermann, M.

English

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ProceedingsoftheNutritionSocietyWinter Meeting, 11–12 December 2013, Diet, gut microbiology and human healthIodine status in UK schoolchildrenS. C. Bath1, E. Combet2, P. Scully1, M. Zimmermann3 and M. P. Rayman11University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, 2University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G3 8SJ, UK and 3Swiss FederalInstitute of Technology, Zurich, SwitzerlandIodine is required for the production of thyroid hormones which are vital for brain development in pregnancy and childhood. Iodinestatus is low in some groups of the UK population, notably in teenage girls, women of childbearing age and in pregnant women(1) anddeﬁciency in UK pregnant women is associated with poorer cognitive scores in their children(2). As there are no data on the iodinestatus of UK schoolchildren, we aimed to determine if iodine deﬁciency in the UK extends to school-age children whose brains are stilldeveloping.A total of 134 schoolchildren (boys and girls aged 8–10 years) were recruited from three UK centres: Surrey (Guildford; n=51),Scotland (Glasgow, n=53) and Northern Ireland (Omagh; n=30) during the winter months (November 2012 to March 2013). TheUK Reference Nutrient Intake for children aged 8–10 years is 110 μg/day and the WHO criteria for adequate iodine status in school-children is that the median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) should be 100–199 μg/L and that no more than 20% of the populationshould have a UIC below 50 μg/L(3).Based on the median UIC of 161.2 μg/L and the fact that just 4.4% (n=6) had a UIC below 50 μg/L, the group was classiﬁed ashaving adequate iodine status. Though the median urinary iodine-to-creatinine ratio was lower than the UIC, at 157 μg/g, the valuewas still indicative of an adequate iodine status in the group. There was a signiﬁcant difference in UIC (p=0.04) andiodine-to-creatinine ratio (p=0.009) between UK centres; children in Northern Ireland had the highest UIC (see ﬁgure), whereasthose in Scotland had a higher iodine-to-creatinine ratio than did Surrey children (p=0.01).These preliminary data suggest that iodine deﬁciency is unlikely to be a problem in 8–10 year old children in the UK. This could be aresult of higher milk intake (the principal source of iodine in the UK diet) in this age group than in teenagers and adults. Howeverthese results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited sample size and the fact that the study was conducted during thewinter months when the iodine concentration of milk is at its highest, hence this may be a best-case scenario. Further study in UKschoolchildren is required.This work was supported by an MRC Population Health Scientist Fellowship for S.C. Bath.1. Bath SC & Rayman MP (2013) Proc Nutr Soc 72, 226–235.2. Bath SC, Steer CD, Golding J et al. (2013) Lancet 382, 331–337.3. WHO, UNICEF & ICCIDD (2007). Geneva: World Health Organisation.050100150200250All Surrey Scotland Northern IrelandUK CentreMedian UIC (mcg/L)Figure. Urinary iodine concentration of UK schoolchildren (8–10 years). Shaded grey area shows the WHO adequate range for median urinary iodineconcentration from a population of schoolchildren (100–199 μg/L)(3).Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2014), 73 (OCE1), E37 doi:10.1017/S0029665114000512https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665114000512Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 19:32:18, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at

Iodine status in UK schoolchildren

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Iodine status in UK schoolchildren

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