Urinary iodine status in 6-11 years old children and pregnant women / Эрүүл мэндийн лаборатори

ABSTRACT

Background@#Iodine is a micronutrient essential for mental and physical development. One of ways to prevent from iodine deficiency is sufficient intake of iodine with food. The WHO approved method for assessment of the population’s iodine status is measurement of the concentration of iodine in urine.@*Goal@#The goal of the survey was to assess the iodine status in 6-11 years old children and pregnant women.@*Materials and Method@#1697 children of 6-11 years of age and 900 pregnant women were selected from 21 aimags and Ulaanbaatar city. Concentrations of iodine in their urine were determined using the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction method.@*Results@#The median amount of urinary iodine in 6-11-year-old children was 143.45 µg/L which was within the WHO recommended range (100.0-199.9 µg/L). 31.82% of the surveyed children had their urinary iodine less than 100 µg/L which indicated a risk of iodine deficiency. The highest frequency of children with urinary iodine less than 100 µg/L was observed in western regions (53.9%) and the lowest percentage was observed in eastern regions (17.8%).</br> The median concentration of urinary iodine in pregnant women was 111.35 100 µg/L which was lower than the WHO recommended value (≥150 µg/L). The median amount of urinary iodine was 127.81 µg/L for the women in Ulaanbaatar city and for those in rural areas was 108 µg/L. The overall percentage of the women with low urinary iodine was 64.1%. @*Conclusions@#</br> 1. The median urinary iodine concentration in 6-11 years old children is within the WHO recommended range, whereas the median concentration in pregnant women is lower than the WHO recommended value. </br> 2. 31.8% of the surveyed children and 64.1% of the pregnant women are at risk of iodine deficiency. </br> 3. The frequency of iodine deficiency is highest in western region and is lowest in eastern and central regions.