REVIEW ERS ' CONCLUSIONS Despite most of the included studies being of low quality , the results suggest that iodine supplementation , especially iodised oil , is an effective means of decreasing goitre rates and improving iodine status in children .
Indications of positive effects on physical and mental development and mortality were seen , although results were not always significant .
Adverse effects were generally minor and transient .
BACKGROUND Iodine deficiency is the main cause of potentially preventable mental retardation in childhood , as well as causing goitre and hypothyroidism in people of all ages .
It is still prevalent in large parts of the world .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of iodine supplementation overall , and of different forms and dosages of iodine supplementation separately , in the prevention of iodine deficiency disorders in children .
Iodine supplementation with oral or intramuscular iodized oil. A two-year follow-up of a comparative trial.
A controlled trial of iodine supplementation comparing oral with intramuscular iodized oil has been carried out in an iodine deficient area of Zaire . Two years after the administration of 2 ml of oral iodized oil to the population of four villages the overall goitre prevalence had fallen from 64 to 54 % . In a further two villages given 2 ml of intramuscular oil the prevalence fell from 65 to 50 % . The effectiveness of supplementation was also assessed by measuring changes in thyroid function in women of reproductive age . Among women in the villages given oral iodized oil , the geometric mean thyroxine concentration , measured in dried bloodspots , rose from 27.2 to 52.6 nmol/L at the two-year follow-up . This was similar to the response of the intramuscularly treated villages in which thyroxine levels rose from 32.1 to 65.4 nmol/L. There was no change in goitre prevalence or thyroid function in two control villages . Oral iodized oil is a cheaper and simpler alternative to the injected form providing effective iodine prophylaxis for up to two years after a single dose
REVIEW ERS ' CONCLUSIONS Despite most of the included studies being of low quality , the results suggest that iodine supplementation , especially iodised oil , is an effective means of decreasing goitre rates and improving iodine status in children .
Indications of positive effects on physical and mental development and mortality were seen , although results were not always significant .
Adverse effects were generally minor and transient .
BACKGROUND Iodine deficiency is the main cause of potentially preventable mental retardation in childhood , as well as causing goitre and hypothyroidism in people of all ages .
It is still prevalent in large parts of the world .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of iodine supplementation overall , and of different forms and dosages of iodine supplementation separately , in the prevention of iodine deficiency disorders in children .