Poor Iodine Knowledge, Coastal Region, and Non-Iodized Salt Consumption Linked to Low Urinary Iodine Excretion in Zhejiang Pregnant Women.

ABSTRACT: Iodine deficiency in pregnant women, defined as a median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) of less than 150 μg/L, is an important public health issue. To improve their iodine intake, it is important to understand the knowledge and practices regarding iodine. A cross-sectional investigation was conducted on 2642 pregnant women during 2016⁻2017 in Zhejiang province, China. A 3-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to record knowledge. The UIC and iodine content in household salt were determined. Coastal participants were iodine deficient (median UIC 127.6 μg/L) while inland participants were iodine sufficient (median UIC 151.0 μg/L). The average knowledge scores were significantly lower for the coastal participants (24.2 points vs. 25 points for the inland participants; p < 0.001). The

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6412776 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature