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Intensifying Iodine Deficiency Throughout Trimesters of Pregnancy in a Borderline Iodine-Sufficient Urban Area, Ankara, Turkey

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Abstract

Iodine has long been recognized as an essential micronutrient for maternal thyroid function, as well as fetal growth and development during pregnancy. The current study aimed to evaluate thyroid hormone status, urinary iodine concentration (UIC), thyroid volume, and nodularity in pregnant women, throughout trimesters, in a borderline iodine sufficient, urban area with mandatory table salt iodization. Two-hundred-sixty-five pregnant women ranging from 17 to 45 years participated in this prospective longitudinal study. Thyroid function tests, thyroid volume, nodule growth, and UIC were recorded throughout the first, second, and third trimesters with no intervention. Median UIC was 96, 78, and 60 µg/L in the first, second, and third trimester of pregnancy, respectively (p < 0.001). Mean TSH values increased significantly (i.e. 0.65 mIU/ml, 1.1 mIU/ml, and 1.3 mIU/ml in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively) (p < 0.001). Mean ± s.d. thyroid volume was significantly higher in the third trimester (14.72 ± 6.8 ml) compared with the first trimester (13.69 ± 5.31 ml) (p < 0.001). An intensifying iodine deficiency (ID) was reported throughout trimesters in this cohort of pregnant women from Ankara. A significant percentage of pregnant women from a borderline iodine sufficient, urban area in Turkey were iodine deficient during all trimesters, and the deficiency increased throughout the pregnancy. Pregnant women should receive iodine supplementation, besides consuming iodized salt in borderline iodine sufficient areas.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [AGC], upon reasonable request.

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Not applicable

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Aynur Köse Aktaş, Ünsal Aydin & Gönül Koç

  2. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    Asena Gökçay Canpolat, Berna İmge Aydogan & Murat Faik Erdoğan

  3. Nephrology Clinic, Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Oncology Training, and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Hakkı Yilmaz

  4. Zekai Tahir Burak Women’s Health Care, Education, and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Kudret Erkenekli

  5. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey

    Yalçın Aral

Authors
  1. Aynur Köse Aktaş
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  2. Asena Gökçay Canpolat
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  3. Ünsal Aydin
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  4. Hakkı Yilmaz
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  9. Murat Faik Erdoğan
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Contributions

AKA and MFE were involved in the conception and design of the study. AKA, HY, ÜA, KE, GK, YA and AGC were responsible for the data download and verification. AGC and BİA cleaned the data and performed the analyses. AGC and MFE prepared the figures and tables and drafted the manuscript. MFE reviewed and made critical contributions to the final draft. All authors were involved in the interpretation, critically reviewed the first draft, and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asena Gökçay Canpolat.

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Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

The study was approved by the local Institutional Research Ethics Committee (Ankara Research and Training Hospital, 23.1.2013/meeting number 0491, Decision number 4071) and certifies that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Patients signed informed consent regarding publishing their data.

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There is no conflict of interest related to our manuscript, and the authors have nothing to disclose.

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Köse Aktaş, A., Gökçay Canpolat, A., Aydin, Ü. et al. Intensifying Iodine Deficiency Throughout Trimesters of Pregnancy in a Borderline Iodine-Sufficient Urban Area, Ankara, Turkey. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 2667–2672 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02903-y

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