Despite the high risk of bias of many of the included studies , the results suggested that urinary iodine , thyroglobin , serum thyroxine , and thyroid-stimulating hormone are useful biomarkers of iodine status , at least in some groups .
BACKGROUND Biomarkers of iodine status are required to study iodine deficiency disorders in different parts of the world and to evaluate the effects of fortification strategies .
OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess the usefulness of biomarkers of iodine status in humans by systematic ally review ing intervention studies that altered iodine status .
Efficacy of low oral doses of iodized oil in the control of iodine deficiency in Zaire.
BACKGROUND About one billion people worldwide are at risk for iodine deficiency . Despite existing programs of prophylaxis , the prevention of iodine deficiency is still a challenge throughout the developing world . We studied the efficacy of low doses of iodized oil in an area of severe iodine deficiency in Zaire . METHODS Seventy-five subjects with visible goiter were r and omly assigned to receive a single oral dose of placebo or either 0.1 or 0.25 ml of iodized oil , corresponding to 0 , 47 , and 118 mg of iodine , respectively . The mean ages of the subjects in the three groups were 23 , 22 , and 22 years , respectively , and the ratios of males to females were 0.25 , 0.32 , and 0.19 .  Efficacy was assessed by evaluating goiter size and measuring urinary iodine and serum thyroid hormone concentrations for 12 months . RESULTS Goiter size decreased in most of the subjects who received either dose of iodized oil . Their urinary iodine concentrations were normal for six to nine months and their serum thyroxine and thyrotropin concentrations were nearly all normal throughout the study period . There were no side effects , even in subjects whose serum thyroxine concentrations had initially been low . In the placebo group , neither goiter size nor any of the biochemical values changed . CONCLUSIONS The oral administration of a single small dose of iodized oil is capable of correcting iodine deficiency for about a year . This method of supplementation is likely to be more effective , efficient , and acceptable than the administration of either intramuscular or large oral doses of iodized oil
Despite the high risk of bias of many of the included studies , the results suggested that urinary iodine , thyroglobin , serum thyroxine , and thyroid-stimulating hormone are useful biomarkers of iodine status , at least in some groups .
BACKGROUND Biomarkers of iodine status are required to study iodine deficiency disorders in different parts of the world and to evaluate the effects of fortification strategies .
OBJECTIVE The objective was to assess the usefulness of biomarkers of iodine status in humans by systematic ally review ing intervention studies that altered iodine status .