PREVENTION OF DISEASES RELATED TO IODINE DEFICIENCY IN GROUPS AT HIGH RISK OF ITS DEVELOPMENT: MODERN APPROACHES

The World Health Organization classifies pregnant and nursing women, as well as children under 2 years, as the group at increased risk of developing diseases related to iodine deficiency. Russia’s population experiences a chronic deficiency of iodine due to lack of mass iodine preventive care. Under these conditions, it is absolutely necessary to have individual iodine prevention using iodine-based drugs among the above risk groups. The article provides data from epidemiological research into iodine-deficiency diseases in Russia, discusses issues of pathogenesis of brain damages caused by iodine deficiency in children, and outlines modern principles of prevention in accordance with the WHO’s latest recommendations. Key words: iodine-deficient conditions, risk groups, prevention, children. (Pediatric Pharmacology. – 2010; 7(3):46-50