Iodine Supplements for Pregnant Women Urges BUSM’s Pearce

A recent study in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, by researchers at the University of Birmingham in England has demonstrated that iodine supplementation for pregnant women in Great Britain could save money from both a health and societal perspective by raising IQ scores among newborns. In an accompanying editorial, BUSM’s Elizabeth Pearce, MD, remarks that the study, which concluded that iodine supplementation could result in a net gain of 1.22 IQ points, demonstrated “the costs of inaction in terms of both economics and lost human potential.” Current reliance on dietary iodine nutrition “is not working.”

She urges that food fortification strategies to increase the amount of iodine in food would take time to develop, but “iodine supplementation is available now.” She recommends “iodine supplements for pregnancy and lactation” as a priority. She also supports the “development of a national plan to monitor urinary iodine concentrations in pregnant women.”

Submitted by Katelyn Bird, MD