Iodine intake and status in two groups of Norwegians

Objective: To evaluate the ranges of iodine intake and iodine status in two subgroups of the Norwegian population. Design: The participants in the Tromso group (n=63) had a normal diet. The participants in the Bergen group (n=44) comprised people with a variable intake of fish and dairy products. Results: The iodine intake varied from 56 to 318 mg day-1 in the Tromso group and from 30 to 427 mg day–1 in the Bergen group. Median intake of iodine (162 µg day-1) in the Tromso group was significantly higher than in the Bergen group (89 µg day-1) (

thyroid-stimulating hormone was 1.6 mIU l-1 in the Tromso group and 1.4 mIU l-1 in the Bergen group. Median free thyroxine in serum was significantly higher in the p articipants from Tromso (15 pmol l-1) than in those from Bergen (12 pmol l-1). Conclusions: Regular intake of dairy products and/or fish products is important to meet the iodine requirements in the Norwegian diet. Although the iodine intake was found to be in the intake range of sufficient iodine intake of most of the participants in the two groups, there may exist population groups with a very low average intake of iodine. Keywords: Diet; iodine; iodine excretion; Norwegians; thyroid hormones