Effects of iodine prophylaxis

What is it about?

Iodine supplementation through salt iodization is a worldwide, effective strategy for preventing iodine deficiency-related problems. Nevertheless, a number of epidemiological studies carried out on populations living in areas with different iodine intake have reported that iodine administration may modulate the pattern of thyroid diseases including thyroid autoimmunity, thyrotoxicosis and hypothyroidism. Thus, despite the clear benefits of iodine prophylaxis, a continuous surveillance on iodine-induced adverse effects is necessary. Our findings clearly evidenced that the small risks of iodine supplementation are far outweighed by the substantial benefits of correcting iodine deficiency.

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Why is it important?

For more than two decades, we have carried out studies on the prevalence of goiter in the populations living in southern Italy either in areas of adequate iodine intake or in communities with severe to moderate iodine deficiency. We have reported in iodine-deficient areas an increased urinary iodine excretion (UIE) together with a decreased goiter prevalence after the introduction of voluntary iodine supply programs. In the present work, we conducted a population-based cross sectional study in 489 adult subjects from a rural area, previously investigated for iodine deficiency, and from an iodine-sufficient urban area of Calabria region to assess the frequency of thyroid disorders. Based on the value of median UIE, we confirmed the heterogeneity from mild/moderate to sufficient in iodine supply among different areas of southern Italy. We observed a decreased goiter prevalence, mainly due to the reduction of diffuse goiter, in adult population living in an urban area than in rural area. Importantly, the prevalence of goiter detected in the rural area was strongly reduced respect to those reported in adult population living in the same area in 2007, confirming the benefits of sustained iodoprophylaxis in abating the frequency of iodine deficiency disorders.

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