Nutritional iodine status of pregnant women in Zaria, North-Western Nigeria

Background: Iodine deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in pregnant women and young children. It is the most common cause of preventable mental retardation all over the world. Few among the devastating outcomes of iodine deficiency in pregnancy are increased perinatal mortality, abortions, stillbirths, neonatal hypothyroidism, goiter, and congenital anomalies. Objective: To assess the nutritional iodine status of pregnant women in Zaria. Methods: Four hundred subjects were recruited for this study consisting of three hundred apparently healthy pregnant women and one hundred apparently healthy nonpregnant age-matched controls. Random urine samples were collected and analyzed for iodine by modified Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. Data were analyzed using Epi-Info 3.5.3 to obtain the mean ages and median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) for pregnant women, controls and then for each trimester of pregnancy. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Mean ages ± standard deviation for pregnant women and controls were 25.41 ± 5.98 and 26.70 ± 5.83 years, respectively ( P > 0.05). Median UIC for pregnant women and controls were 193 μg/L and 205 μg/L, respectively. Trimester-specific UICs were 250 μg/L, 154 μg/L, and 150 μg/L for the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. The percentage of women with iodine deficiency increased with advancing gestational age. Conclusion: Pregnant women in Zaria were iodine sufficient. There was a progressive decline in median UIC from the first through the third trimester.