ATA Members Concerned About Reducing Dietary Iodine Intake

Following publication of an article in The New England Journal of Medicine by Bibbins-Domingo, et al. that projected the effect of moderate dietary salt reductions on future cardiac disease rates, several members of the American Thyroid Association (ATA), concerned about the subsequent potential reduction in availability of iodine, have responded with a letter in a more recent issue.

“Iodized salt is an important source of dietary iodine in the U.S. and worldwide,” wrote ATA members Elizabeth N. Pearce, MD, of Boston University Medical Center; Offie P. Soldin, PhD, MBA, of Georgetown University Medical Center; and Alex Stagnaro-Green, MD, currently at George Washington University (prior affiliation: Touro University College of Medicine). “Iodine, essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones, is obtained solely through diet.”

In their letter to the journal, the authors noted that iodine levels in the United States have decreased by 50% over the past three decades. Although the overall population in the United States still receives sufficient iodine, studies suggest that many pregnant women may be iodine deficient and, since iodine requirements increase by 50% to 100% during pregnancy, they recommended that decreased salt consumption must take into account the need for iodine sufficiency, especially among pregnant women and infants. While iodine is essential for proper thyroid hormone synthesis, thyroid hormones are critical to normal infant brain development and preventing fetal neurodevelopmental and neurobehavioral deficits.

“We agree with the call for decreased salt consumption for better cardiac health,” wrote the authors. “However, we recommend that all producers of commercially prepared foods—accounting for up to 70 percent of all salt consumed in the U.S.—use iodized salt, a step not currently practiced by commercial foods manufacturers. Any decrease in salt intake should not cause a reduction in dietary iodine intake."

Source: American Thyroid Association