Doctors issue iodine deficiency warning

Doctors at the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust carried out tests on 737 teenage girls and found that more than two-thirds had a deficiency of iodine, which is found in dairy products and seafood and is important for brain development.

Consultant physician Dr Mark Vanderpump, who led the research team, said: "Children used to consume a lot more milk. We found there was a lower dietary intake of milk in the diet of the girls who had the lowest urine iodine levels and this may be an important factor in why they were so iodine-deficient."

Teenage girls were focused on as they are potential mothers of the future and low iodine levels among pregnant women are seen as more dangerous because of the effect on their babies’ brain development.

Vanderpump called for government action "as the consequences of iodine deficiency are grave". Those with low iodine levels score lower in IQ tests and "even mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy can cause mental impairment in children", he added.

Among options ministers should consider is adding iodine to salt. The World Health Organisation recommends this for countries with low iodine intake among their population.
 
Those girls that took part were aged 14 and 15 years old and were tested at locations across the UK. Just under a fifth had very low levels of iodine.