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Constant iodine intake through the diet could improve hypothyroidism treatment: a case report

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Abstract

Currently, hypothyroidism is usually treated only with drugs; patients are never told that they could regulate their levels of iodine with dietary recommendations in a complementary way. The objective of this work was to explore the effect of a constant iodine intake through the diet in a postmenopausal woman with subclinical grade II hypothyroidism, who also had mild hypercholesterolemia and obesity. Baseline anthropometric nutritional, pharmacological, and habit data were obtained, then the woman was scheduled for 1 month a diet in which she was provided food naturally containing iodine, so that the recommended requirements (iodine 150 μg/day) were met. All the information about which foods contain this mineral was supplied and explained to the patient. This diet was also designed to help her to gradually lose weight, and was more balanced and closer to the nutritional recommendations. The results obtained in this work were satisfactory, having achieved improved blood levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (1.78 μIU/mL) and reduced total cholesterol levels (198 mg/dL). Statement of hypercholesterolemia was demoted. In addition, a significant improvement in relation to weight and body volume was reached (body mass index fell from 30.13 to 28.5 kg/m2), an important fact since it has impacted the overall well-being of the patient. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that a constant iodine intake through the diet for this patient with grade II hypothyroidism was very effective, and therefore, this aspect should be also considered during hypothyroidism treatment.

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Abbreviations

TSH:

Thyroid-stimulating hormone

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the woman of the case and to its family doctor for her essential help in data acquisition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Higiene, Inspección y Control de Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Departamento de Química Analítica, Nutrición y Bromatología, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Pab4, planta baja. c/Campus universitario, s/n, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Yasmin Lopez, Carlos Franco, Alberto Cepeda & Beatriz Vázquez

Authors
  1. Yasmin Lopez
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  2. Carlos Franco
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  3. Alberto Cepeda
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  4. Beatriz Vázquez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasmin Lopez.

Ethics declarations

After obtaining the signed consent of the subject of the study, an anthropometric study was performed on her according to Norton and Olds [3]; a dietary history for 15 days, a food frequency questionnaire, and a 24-h recall questionnaire were also completed.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

This article forms part of a special issue of the Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry entitled “Impact of lifestyles patterns on human health: Integrated approach from the child to the elderly.”

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Lopez, Y., Franco, C., Cepeda, A. et al. Constant iodine intake through the diet could improve hypothyroidism treatment: a case report. J Physiol Biochem 74, 189–193 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-017-0605-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-017-0605-x

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