Serum Iodine as a Potential Individual Iodine Status Biomarker: A Cohort Study of Mild Iodine Deficient Pregnant Women in China

Abstract

Iodine deficiency during pregnancy is a widespread public health concern, but indicators and methods for assessing iodine nutritional status are lacking. Serum iodine concentration (SIC) is an important iodine metabolism biomarker and can, to some extent, predict the risk of thyroid diseases, making it a potential biomarker for assessing individual iodine nutrition levels. Our study aimed to analyze the relationship between SIC and thyroid function in a cohort of mild iodine deficient pregnant women in China in order to explore the potential of SIC as a biomarker of individual iodine status in pregnancy. A total of 1540 early pregnant women (gestation 93.9 µg/L were at a higher risk of thyrotoxicosis (adjusted OR = 11.064, 95% CI = 6.324–19.357) and excessive iodine (adjusted OR = 11.064, 95% CI = 6.324–19.357). In contrast, the UIC was not correlated with thyroid diseases (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that the SIC is a potential biomarker for assessing individual iodine nutrition and thyroid dysfunction in pregnant women.

Keywords

• serum iodine
• urinary iodine
• pregnant women
• individual iodine status
• thyroid diseases
• thyroid function