Iodine Status and Iodised Salt Consumption in Portuguese School-Aged Children: The Iogeneration Study.
Nutrients
; 9(5)2017 May 05.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28475154
ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization promotes salt iodisation to control iodine deficiency. In Portugal, the use of iodised salt in school canteens has been mandatory since 2013. The present study aimed to evaluate iodine status in school-aged children (6-12 years) and to monitor the use of iodised salt in school canteens. A total of 2018 participants were randomly selected to participate in a cross-sectional survey in northern Portugal. Children's urine and salt samples from households and school canteens were collected. A lifestyle questionnaire was completed by parents to assess children's eating frequency of iodine food sources. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was measured by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The median UIC was 129 µg/L which indicates the adequacy of iodine status and 32% of the children had UIC < 100 µg/L. No school canteen implemented the iodised salt policy and only 2% of the households were using iodised salt. Lower consumption of milk, but not fish, was associated with a higher risk of iodine deficiency. Estimation of sodium intake from spot urine samples could be an opportunity for adequate monitoring of population means. Implementation of iodine deficiency control policies should include a monitoring program aligned with the commitment of reducing the population salt intake.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sodium Chloride, Dietary
/
Iodine
Type of study:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Nutrients
Year:
2017
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Portugal