COMPARATIVE INCIDENCE OF GOITRE IN PREGNANCY IN ICELAND AND SCOTLAND

Abstract Two female populations in Iceland were screened for enlargement of the thyroid gland. The frequency of thyroid enlargement was the same in the two groups of women, pregnant and non-pregnant. A comparison with the figures for North-East Scotland, arrived at in a previous survey, is compatible with the conclusion that the thyroid gland enlarges during pregnancy in Scotland, but not in Iceland. The Icelandic diet based on fish contains a lot of iodine; and estimations of plasma-inorganic-iodine confirmed this, values being significantly higher than those found earlier in Scotland.