Earliest prevention of endemic goiter by iodine supplementation during pregnancy

Liesenkötter KP, Göpel W, Bogner U, Stach B, Grüters A. Earliest prevention of endemic goiter by iodine supplementation during pregnancy. Eur J Endocrinol 1996;134:443–8. ISSN 0804–4643 During pregnancy complex changes of maternal thyroid function occur and they are influenced by the maternal iodine supply. It has been demonstrated that with decreasing iodine supply maternal goiter and hypothyroxinemia as well as fetal and neonatal hypothyroidism become more prevalent. Therefore iodine supplementation during pregnancy is now strongly recommended also in areas of moderate iodine deficiency. To monitor the success of iodine supplementation and its theoretical risk of increasing the frequency of thyroid autoantibodies, we have investigated the thyroid volume, thyroid function, urinary iodine excretion and antibodies to thyroid peroxidase at 10–12 weeks of gestation and postpartum in 38 mothers receiving 300 μg potassium iodide/day and in 70 mothers without iodine supplementation. In all of their newborns thyroid volume was determined by ultrasound. The thyrotropin (TSH) levels and antibodies to thyroid peroxidase (TPO-ab) in the neonates were measured in dried blood spots on filter paper from their newborn screening. Urinary iodine excretion was increased significantly after iodine supplementation in mothers (p < 0.001) and their newborns (