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Urinary iodine concentration during pregnancy in an area of unstable dietary iodine intake in Switzerland

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Abstract

We prospectively investigated urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in pregnant women and in female, non-pregnant controls in the canton of Berne, Switzerland, in 1992. Mean UIC of pregnant women [205±151 μg iodine/g creatinine (μg I/g Cr); no.=153] steadily decreased from the first (236±180 μg I/g Cr; no.=31) to the third trimester (183±111 μg I/g Cr, p<0.0001; no.=66) and differed significantly from that of the control group (91±37 μg I/g Cr, p<0.0001; no.=119). UIC increased 2.6-fold from levels indicating mild iodine deficiency in controls to the first trimester, demonstrating that high UIC during early gestation does not necessarily reflect a sufficient iodine supply to the overall population. Pregnancy is accompanied by important alterations in the regulation of thyroid function and iodine metabolism. Increased renal iodine clearance during pregnancy may explain increased UIC during early gestation, whereas increased thyroidal iodine clearance as well as the iodine shift from the maternal circulation to the growing fetal-placental unit, which both tend to lower the circulating serum levels of inorganic iodide, probably are the causes of the continuous decrease of UIC over the course of pregnancy. Mean UIC in our control group, as well as in one parallel and several consecutive investigations in the same region in the 1990s, was found to be below the actually recommended threshold, indicating a new tendency towards mild to moderate iodine deficiency. As salt is the main source of dietary iodine in Switzerland, its iodine concentration was therefore increased nationwide in 1998 for the fourth time, following increases in 1922, 1965 and 1980.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Chemistry, University of Berne, 3010, Berne, Switzerland

    L. Brander M.D., C. Als, K. Lauber & H. Gerber

  2. Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, University of Berne, Switzerland

    U. Bürgi

  3. Division of Nuclear Medicine, Inselspital, University of Berne, Switzerland

    C. Als

  4. Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Inselspital, University of Berne, Switzerland

    W. Hänggi

  5. Divisions of Gynecology and Obstetrics, District Hospitals of Thun, Switzerland

    H. Buess

  6. Division of Gynecology and Obstetrics, District Hospital of Biel, Switzerland

    U. Herrmann

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  1. L. Brander M.D.
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Correspondence to L. Brander M.D..

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Brander, L., Als, C., Buess, H. et al. Urinary iodine concentration during pregnancy in an area of unstable dietary iodine intake in Switzerland. J Endocrinol Invest 26, 389–396 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03345192

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