High Iodine and Salt Intakes and Obesity do not Modify the Thyroid Function in Mexican Schoolchildren.

Mexico is considered as a nutritional transition country with a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, and recent studies have reported a high iodine intake in children. Both high iodine intake and obesity have been associated with thyroid dysfunction. Our aim was to assess iodine and salt intake and thyroid function in Mexican schoolchildren with normal weight and obesity. A cross-sectional study was performed during 2012-2013 in schoolchildren from Queretaro, Mexico. Six hundred seventy-eight schoolchildren were evaluated to obtain nutrition status, urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and thyroid volume (TVol). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 47.3 %, the median UIC was 428 µg/L and TVol was normal in all schoolchildren; however, obese girls had a higher TVol than normal weight at the age of 8, 10 and 12 years. A subsample of schoolchildren was divided in 6-8 and 9-12-year-old groups, in order to compare thyroid function (thyrotropin, free T4, and anti-thyroid antibodies); iodine and salt intake were estimated with 24-h urinary samples. No differences in thyroid function were observed in both age groups. In the 6-8-year-old group, obese schoolchildren had higher iodine intake than normal-weight children (415.5 vs. 269.1 µg/day, p < 0.05), but no differences in salt intake. In contrast, in the 9-12-year-old group, obese schoolchildren had higher salt intake than normal-weight children (6.2 vs. 3.8 g/day, p < 0.05), but no differences in iodine intake. Dietary patterns could explain the differences between both age groups. Further studies are needed to identify the main sources of iodine intake in Mexican populations.

Iodine nutrition and thyroid function assessment in childbearing age women from Queretaro, Mexico.

OBJECTIVE: To assess iodine nutrition and thyroid function in Mexican childbearing age women. METHODS: 101 childbearing age women (21.7 ± 3.5 years) randomly selected from the university student population participated in this cross-sectional study. TSH, thyroid hormones, anti-thyroid antibodies, thyroid volume, iodine intake, and urinary iodine concentration (UIC) were assessed. The knowledge about the importance of iodine in nutrition was also evaluated by using questionnaires. RESULTS: TSH median (interquartile range) value was 1.9 (1.4-2.5) mIU/L, while FT4 median value was 9.0 (8.3- 9.6) µg/dL. The median FT3 and total rT3 values were 3.3 pg/mL and 40.1 ng/dL, respectively. The prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (serum TSH >4.5 mIU/L) and of positive anti-thyroid antibodies were 2.9% and <5.9%, respectively. Median thyroid volume was 5.6 mL and none of the subjects were diagnosed with goiter. Median urinary iodine concentration was 146 (104-180) µg/L. As for the knowledge of iodine nutrition, only 37.6% considered that a pregnant woman needs more dietary iodine than a non pregnant woman, while 43.6% recognized that the lack of iodine can cause mental retardation in children. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of thyroid test function abnormalities was low in this population and the median UIC indicates adequate iodine intake. We also found a poor knowledge about the importance iodine nutrition in the studied population.

Las mujeres evalúan sus factores de riesgo para osteoporosis / Osteoporosis risk factors autoevaluated by women

Esta encuesta incluyó 70 mujeres con edad promedio de 62 años y diagnóstico confirmado de osteoporosis por DEXA, quienes autoevaluaron los factores de riesgo (FR) en la aparición con la enfermedad. El promedio de FR fue 3.35 por caso. El 62.8 por ciento informó enfermedades coexistentes y en ese mismo porcentaje reconocieron vida sedentaria; el 43 por ciento refirió deficiente aporte alimentario de calcio, el 30 por ciento había sufrido fracturas previas (35 por ciento de muñeca) y también en 30 por ciento existió antecedente de menopausia quirúrgica, de las cuales sólo al 24 por ciento recibió prescripción para terapia de reemplazo hormonal que fue seguido por menos de un año en 41 por ciento. Se encontró significancia estadística (p < 0.05) para las características antropométricas, el número de factores asociados, años de menopausia, antecedentes hereditarios, fracturas previas y uso previo de corticoesteroides.