The study emphasizes the “public health problem” for Irish iodine levels

The study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, According to reports, the first large -scale examination of the iodine status of mothers in Ireland, whereby the suboptimal status was emphasized and the resulting effects on health must be assessed.

“In view of the low status that we have observed in the current study, the iodine status of Iodine -based recommendations for the iodine supplementation, no obligatory fastening program, a limited availability of iodine salt and a low public awareness of the importance of iodine in pregnancies,” wrote researchers from the University College Cork.

A reasonable maternal iodine is of crucial importance for healthy fetal brain development, and during pregnancy the requirements can increase by about 50% in order to maintain sufficient iodine supply to the fetus. While the results of a heavy lack of iodine are well established, the influence of a slight to medium -difficult deficiency is less well described.

The researchers based in the Cork found that predictors for lower iodine levels included the season, BMI and education, whereby the nutritional supplements showed higher levels, but still did not achieve any median.

The problem of iodine lack

The 2024 report of the WHO and the iodine Global Network on the prevention and control of iodine lack in the European WHO region showed a relevant deficiency in pregnant women.

This can be attributed to the fact that they live in countries with volunteers or no salt yodelling and trends towards milk alternatives on plant -based, which may not be attached to iodine.

The report found that 70% to 80% of salt intake in western countries is consumed by food such as bread, processed food and finished meals. However, the data indicates that only 9% of the salt are iodized in processed foods in Germany and 34% in Switzerland.

According to the report, bad knowledge is also a problem with little understanding of the consequences of an iodine lack in public.

In the current study, it was found that the effects of a slight to moderate iodine lack are unclear, but that recent studies on a connection between maternal lack and disadvantageous cognitive results in infants such as “lesser work memory, reading accuracy and understanding, cognitive evaluation of the receptive and expressive language skills in small children” indicated.

The researchers found that 67% of the participants had an iodine-containing supplement and 26 µg/l had higher iodine levels than non-supplement users.

“This shows the potential for a supplementary policy to improve iodine status in women and nevertheless shows that nutritional supplements alone may not have enough effects to ensure the appropriateness of iodine in this endangered group,” the researchers and found that Australia has a double approach for the obligatory food strength and the recommendation for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

It is important that you also pointed out indications that the supplementation may not be sufficient during pregnancy to correct the Peri conceptual defects during the critical neuro-development period.

Study end soils

The study participants were pregnant women who received prenatal care at the maternity hospital of Cork University in Ireland, who took part in the early time (improvement) in the improved pregnancy results.

According to the exclusion criteria, the number (UIC) 373 analyzed for the iodine concentration in the urine was after a week of pregnancy and 1,350 after 15 weeks, with 353 participants being analyzed at both times. The researchers corrected the UIC for creatine and expressed them as I: CR ratio.

The results showed that after pregnancy after 11 and 15 weeks 128 (76, 201) or 125 (74, 208) µg/l, “which indicates a slight to moderate iodine deficiency during pregnancy during both times,” wrote the researchers.

Predictors for the UIC status are under I: CR <150 µg/g.

The researchers found that higher iodine status in the winter months is likely to be due to higher levels of cow's milk, which was enriched, compared to the summer months in which the cows are equipped with pasture.

They called for randomized controlled studies that examined the effects of supplementation during pregnancy in order to determine the consequences of light to moderate defects.

Source: European Journal of Nutrition2025, 64173. DOI: 10.1007/S00394-025-03692-Z. “Easier to moderate iodine deficiency in pregnant women in Ireland: data from a large prospective pregnancy cohort”. Authors: L. Kelliher et al.