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Assessment of iodine importance and needs for supplementation in school-aged children in Portugal.

ABSTRACT: Background:Micronutrients are essential for child proper growth and development. Nutritional deficiencies of these elements have increasingly been a concern in Europe, as they are often related to the cognitive potential and physical lifelong consequences. However, being an essential trace element for thyroid function, iodine intake in the desired quantities becomes also very important for neurodevelopment, including for school-aged children. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to highlight the need for wider dissemination of the physiological importance of iodine among health professionals and the general population as well as the knowledge of iodine needs and possible supplementation within families with school-aged children. Methods:The present study is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional evaluation of knowledge and perceptions of iodine physiological importance. An evaluation survey has been carried out based on knowledge of iodine needs and possible supplementation within families with school-aged children. It has been target at mothers with school-age children under 18 years old with residence in Portugal. Data are represented as frequency and percentages and association between variables was measured. Results:The internet survey has been answered by around 691 mothers, corresponding to 811 children data validated; 47% (n?=?381) girls and 53% (n?=?430) boys. Mother's knowledge about iodine and the importance for the improvement of learning capacity is not independent of having health study/work area (?2 at the 0.05 level). Nevertheless, it can be observed a slight association between mothers who agree with iodine supplementation and those who effectively supplement their child (?2 9.315; ? 0.116). Although use of iodized kitchen salt certainly changes the balance from sub-optimal to adequate iodine nutrition, only 8.8% (n?=?61) reported using iodized salt. However, 87.6% (n?=?605) assumed salt iodization importance without information. Conclusions:We believe that the findings of this survey have great public health importance for Portugal. While many countries have mandatory iodizes salt programmes, in Portugal iodine supplementation is not a current practice. Therefore, we suggest an urgent evaluation of iodine in Portugal, namely for school-aged children, where iodine deficiencies are critical, as well as a systematic information dissemination as a form of publicizing iodine supplementation needs.

SUBMITTER: Pires AM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7050902 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessment of iodine importance and needs for supplementation in school-aged children in Portugal.

Pires Ana M AM Félix Sandra S Sousa Ana C C ACC

BMC nutrition 20170720

<h4>Background</h4>Micronutrients are essential for child proper growth and development. Nutritional deficiencies of these elements have increasingly been a concern in Europe, as they are often related to the cognitive potential and physical lifelong consequences. However, being an essential trace element for thyroid function, iodine intake in the desired quantities becomes also very important for neurodevelopment, including for school-aged children. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to highli ...[more]

PMID: 32153844

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Project description:Background:Iodine deficiency is a public health problem. The universal salt iodization (USI) program is the main, simple, and cost-effective intervention strategy to control iodine deficiency. The study examined the iodine status in school-aged children in Ashanti region, Ghana, using thyroid volumes along with urinary iodine concentrations, the methods recommended by the WHO/ICCIDD for monitoring the sustained impact of USI programs. Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted among school-aged children (6-12 years) from randomly selected schools in the central and northern part of the Ashanti region, Kumasi Metropolis, and Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality, respectively. A total of 852 children were enrolled in the study. Thyroid volume and urinary iodine concentrations of the children were determined using the standardized methods recommended by WHO/ICCIDD. Anthropometric measurements were also evaluated. Results:The mean values of thyroid volume in female and male school-aged children were 3.53?±?0.09 and 3.32?±?0.07, respectively. The thyroid size was significantly associated with age (P < 0.0001), weight (P < 0.0001), height (P < 0.0001), BMI (P < 0.05), and BSA (P < 0.0001) by Pearson's correlation in both males and females. The P50 (median) thyroid volumes of school children investigated in this study were generally larger compared to the WHO/ICCIDD reference data by age and body surface area. The median value of urinary iodine concentration was 201.85??g/L, which showed significant sex difference (P value <0.0001). Excessive iodine nutrition (?300??g/L) was observed among 34.4% of male children and 27.6% of female children. Also, 12.8% of the male and 19.5% of the female children had UIC below requirement (<100??g/L). The criteria of thyroid volume per age yielded a goitre prevalence of 2.2%. In contrast, the criteria of thyroid volume by body surface area yielded a goitre prevalence of 0.9%. Conclusion:The study clearly indicated that adequate iodine nutrition exists generally among the school children. However, insufficient and excessive iodine intakes still persist among some of the children. The establishment of local reference values for thyroid volume that might be applicable to precisely define goitre prevalence in the Ghanaian context is highly recommended.

Project description:BackgroundChildren and young persons are known to have a high number of close interactions, often within the school environment, which can facilitate rapid spread of infection; yet for SARS-CoV-2, it is the elderly and vulnerable that suffer the greatest health burden. Vaccination, initially targeting the elderly and vulnerable before later expanding to the entire adult population, has been transformative in the control of SARS-CoV-2 in England. However, early concerns over adverse events and the lower risk associated with infection in younger individuals means that the expansion of the vaccine programme to those under 18 years of age needs to be rigorously and quantitatively assessed.MethodsHere, using a bespoke mathematical model matched to case and hospital data for England, we consider the potential impact of vaccinating 12-17 and 5-11-year-olds. This analysis is reported from an early model (generated in June 2021) that formed part of the evidence base for the decisions in England, and a later model (from November 2021) that benefits from a richer understanding of vaccine efficacy, greater knowledge of the Delta variant wave and uses data on the rate of vaccine administration. For both models, we consider the population wide impact of childhood vaccination as well as the specific impact on the age groups targeted for vaccination.ResultsProjections from June suggested that an expansion of the vaccine programme to those 12-17 years old could generate substantial reductions in infection, hospital admission and deaths in the entire population, depending on population behaviour following the relaxation of control measures. The benefits within the 12-17-year-old cohort were less marked, saving between 660 and 1100 (95% PI (prediction interval) 280-2300) hospital admissions and between 22 and 38 (95% PI 9-91) deaths depending on assumed population behaviour. For the more recent model, the benefits within this age group are reduced, saving on average 630 (95% PI 300-1300) hospital admissions and 11 (95% PI 5-28) deaths for 80% vaccine uptake, while the benefits to the wider population represent a reduction of 8-10% in hospital admissions and deaths. The vaccination of 5-11-year-olds is projected to have a far smaller impact, in part due to the later roll-out of vaccines to this age group.ConclusionsVaccination of 12-170-year-olds and 5-11-year-olds is projected to generate a reduction in infection, hospital admission and deaths for both the age groups involved and the population in general. For any decision involving childhood vaccination, these benefits needs to be balanced against potential adverse events from the vaccine, the operational constraints on delivery and the potential for diverting resources from other public health campaigns.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Prenatal alcohol exposure results in a broad range of cognitive and behavioral impairments. Because of the long-lasting problems that are associated with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs), the development of effective treatment programs is critical. Preclinical animal studies have shown that choline, which is an essential nutrient, can attenuate the severity of alcohol-related cognitive impairments. OBJECTIVE:We aimed to translate preclinical findings to a clinical population to investigate whether choline supplementation can ameliorate the severity of memory, executive function, and attention deficits in children with FASDs. DESIGN:In the current study, which was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we explored the effectiveness of a choline intervention for children with FASDs who were aged 5-10 y. Fifty-five children with confirmed histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure were randomly assigned to either the choline (n = 29) or placebo (n = 26) treatment arms. Participants in the choline group received 625 mg choline/d for 6 wk, whereas subjects in the placebo group received an equivalent dose of an inactive placebo treatment. Primary outcomes, including the performance on neuropsychological measures of memory, executive function, and attention and hyperactivity, were assessed at baseline and postintervention. RESULTS:Compared with the placebo group, participants in the choline group did not differentially improve in cognitive performance in any domain. Treatment compliance and mean dietary choline intake were not predictive of treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS:Findings of the current study do not support that choline, administered at a dose of 625 mg/d for 6 wk, is an effective intervention for school-aged (5-10 y old) children with FASDs. This research provides important information about choline's therapeutic window. Combined with other studies of choline and nutritional interventions in this population, this study emphasizes a further need for the continued study of the role of nutritional status and supplementation in children with FASDs and the contributions of nutrition to neurocognition. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01911299.

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Assessment of iodine importance and needs for supplementation in school-aged children in Portugal.

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Assessment of iodine importance and needs for supplementation in school-aged children in Portugal.

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