Iodine Deficiency in Relation to Iron Deficiency and Parasitosis: Effect of Iron Status and Parasites on Iodine Deficiency Disorders

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, salt iodization was the preferred strategy adopted to eliminate IDD through universal iodization. Iron deficiency adversely affects thyroid metabolism and reduces iodine prophylaxis efficacy in areas of endemic goiter. The therapeutic response to oral iodized oil is impaired in goitrous children with iron deficiency anemia. In pregnant women with chronic iodine deficiency, endemic goiter may aggravate anemia, while the severity of subclinical hypothyroidism increases in the presence of anemia. Parasites such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiuria and hookworms are the most common, chronic, subclinical infections in childhood. Nutritional deficiencies are important determining factors for fetal growth, body composition and childhood development. Some stages are more vulnerable than others, and the most vulnerable stages may differ according to particular nutritional deficiencies. Iodine deficiency may be associated with alterations in the progeny's psychoneuro-intellectual, developmental prognosis. ID and IDA are estimated to affect about half of the world's population, and young children are among the most severely affected. A possible relationship exists between iodine deficiency and toxoplasma infection. Hookworm species being transmitted in a community influence the burden of IDA and should be considered when prioritizing and planning programs for hookworm and anemia control. Salt iodization is the preferred strategy in eliminating IDD as a public health problem, and universal iodization is the target for the beginning of the twenty-first century. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.