Iodine Status in Pregnant Women of Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVE: Iodine deficiency is a worldwide public health problem and a preventable cause of neurodevelopmental delay in children. There are no data regarding iodine sufficiency and knowledge on iodine nutrition among pregnant women in Puerto Rico. The objective of this study was to assess iodine status, potential factors influencing iodine status, and knowledge regarding iodine nutrition among Puerto Rican pregnant women. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 125 pregnant women recruited from an ambulatory high-risk obstetric clinic in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The participants completed a survey and provided spot urine samples. We excluded women on thyroid medications or those who had undergone iodinated contrast studies in the last 6 months. Spot urine iodine concentrations (UICs) were measured spectrophotometrically. RESULTS: The median UIC was 182 µg/L. Only 3 (2%) of the participants were aware that pregnant women need increased iodine intake, and 78% reported taking prenatal vitamins, 77% of which were prescription products. The participants who reported taking prescription prenatal vitamins had a median (range) UIC of 148.6 (15.3-1188.6) µg/L compared to those who were not taking prescription prenatal vitamins, who had a median UIC of 249.7 (47.8-2179.0) µg/L (P = .05). The iodine content of the prenatal vitamins was unknown. CONCLUSIONS: The World Health Organization has defined iodine deficiency as a median UIC of <150 µg/L in populations of pregnant women. Our sample of pregnant Puerto Rican women had an adequate iodine status. Most women used prescribed prenatal vitamins with unknown iodine content. The majority of participants reported not receiving any education by health care providers regarding dietary iodine needs.

Phase composition and genesis of pyroxenic jadeite from Guatemala: insights from cathodoluminescence.

Guatemalan jadeite has a long history, and much Guatemalan jadeite can be found on the market today with a variety of colors and species diversity. Seven varieties of green pyroxenic jadeite from Guatemala with greyish green, yellow green, brilliant green, blue green, dark green, black green and mottled green colors were investigated by combining the methods of XRD, Raman spectroscopy, cathodoluminescence, EPMA and µ-XRF mapping. The results showed that according to the composition, Guatemalan pyroxenic jadeite can be divided into three categories: jadeite jade, omphacite jade, and jadeite-omphacite jade. According to the characteristics of cathodoluminescence, it can be speculated that the formation of jadeite undergoes three stages, and the formation of jadeite jade is mainly due to the crystallization (Jad I) of the early jadeite fluid, along with the second-stage fluid metasomatism/crystallization (Jad II). In the later stage, the fluid that is rich in Ca-Mg-Fe components can replace early Jad I/Jad II, or it can coexist with Jad II, and metamorphism occurs to produce omphacite jade. The jadeite-omphacite jade can be formed when the omphacite fluid with incomplete metasomatism, with uneven texture and reduced transparency.

Population Survey of Iodine Deficiency and Environmental Disruptors of Thyroid Function in Young Children in Haiti.

Context: Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable neurodevelopmental delay in children worldwide and a possible public health concern in Haiti. Objective: To determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency in Haitian young children and its influence by environmental factors. Design: Cross-sectional study, March through June 2015. Setting: Community churches in 3 geographical regions in Haiti. Participants: 299 healthy Haitian children aged 9 months to 6 years; one-third each enrolled in a coastal, mountainous, and urban region. Main Outcome Measures: Urinary iodide, serum thyrotropin (TSH), goiter assessment, and urinary perchlorate and thiocyanate. Results: 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. Conclusions: Areas of mild iodine deficiency persist in Haiti's mountainous regions. Exposure to two well-understood environmental thyroid function disruptors is limited.

Effect of environmental perchlorate on thyroid function in pregnant women from Córdoba, Argentina, and Los Angeles, California.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether environmental perchlorate exposure adversely affects thyroid function in women in the first trimester of pregnancy. METHODS: First-trimester pregnant women were recruited from prenatal clinics in the Los Angeles County Hospital, Los Angeles, California, and in the Hospital Universitario de Maternidad dependent Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina, between 2004 and 2007. Spot urine and blood specimens were obtained during the clinic visit. Urinary perchlorate, iodine, and creatinine were measured, and thyroid function tests were performed. RESULTS: The study included 134 pregnant women from Los Angeles, California (mean gestational age ± SD = 9.1 ± 2.2 weeks), and 107 pregnant women from Córdoba, Argentina (mean gestational age = 10.0 ± 2.0 weeks). Median urinary iodine values were 144 µg/L in California and 130 µg/L in Argentina. Urinary perchlorate levels were detectable in all women (California: median, 7.8 µg/L [range, 0.4-284 µg/L] and Argentina: median, 13.5 µg/L [range, 1.1-676 µg/L]). Serum thyroperoxidase antibodies were detectable in 21 women from California (16%) and in 17 women from Argentina (16%). Using Spearman rank correlation analyses, there was no association between urinary perchlorate concentrations and serum thyrotropin, free thyroxine index, or total triiodothyronine values, including within the subset of women with urinary iodine values less than 100 µg/L. In multivariate analyses using the combined Argentina and California data sets and adjusting for urinary iodine concentrations, urinary creatinine, gestational age, and thyroperoxidase antibody status, urinary perchlorate was not a significant predictor of thyroid function. CONCLUSIONS: Low-level perchlorate exposure is ubiquitous, but is not associated with altered thyroid function among women in the first trimester of pregnancy.