Prevalence of iodine deficiency among vegan compared to vegetarian and omnivore children in the Czech Republic: cross-sectional study

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11120%2F23%3A43925907" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11120/23:43925907 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00064173:_____/23:43925907 RIV/75010330:_____/23:00014363

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01312-9" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01312-9</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41430-023-01312-9" target="_blank" >10.1038/s41430-023-01312-9</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Prevalence of iodine deficiency among vegan compared to vegetarian and omnivore children in the Czech Republic: cross-sectional study

Original language description

BACKGROUND: The intake and homeostasis of iodine, an essential micronutrient that plays a vital role in thyroid physiology, is of particular concern with the increasing popularity of vegetarian (VG) and vegan (VN) diets. Children on these restrictive diets may be at risk of possible adverse effects on growth and development, but there is currently a lack of recent epidemiological studies on this topic. METHODS: We gathered clinical, anthropometric, and blood/urine data on iodine status and thyroid function from children aged 0-18 years who followed either a VG diet (n = 91), VN diet (n = 75), or omnivore diet (OM, n = 52). Cross-sectional comparison of the groups and linear regression was used. Stratified analyses were performed based on age (according to WHO): 0-5 years and 6-18 years. RESULTS: Our study revealed no significant differences in levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (fT3), thyroglobulin (TG) or anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody (ATPOc) between the VG, VN, and OM groups. However, thyroxine (fT4) levels were found to be higher in the VN group compared to the OM group (15.00 +- 1.73 vs. 16.17 +- 1.82 pmol/l, p &lt; 0.001). The presence of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (AhTGc) was notably more common in the VG (18.2%)/VN (35.0%) groups than in the OM group (2.1%) (p &lt; 0.001). Regarding iodine status, the concentration of iodine in spot urine (UIC) was found to be highest in the OM group (197.28 +- 105.35 vs. VG: 177.95 +- 155.88 vs. VN: 162.97 +- 164.51 µg/l, p &lt; 0.001). Notably, the lowest (5.99 µg/l) and highest (991.80 µg/l) levels were measured in the VN group. Of the participants, 31 VN, 31 VG and 10 OM children met the criteria for iodine deficiency (i.e., UIC &lt; 100 µg/l). We found that children with regular iodine supplementation had higher UIC (p &lt; 0.001). Importantly, the median UIC was above 100 µg/l in all three groups, through the recommended intake (RDI) of iodine was rarely met throughout the groups. CONCLUSION: We have observed a trend to lower UIC values in VN as compared to OM. This trend is also reflected in the median UIC values, even though the median UIC values were above the WHO cut-off (e.g., 100 µg/l) for iodine deficiency in all dietary groups. These results suggest that VN and VG children may be more at higher risk of iodine deficiency, this theory is also supported by higher prevalence of AhTGc positivity. Further research is needed to investigate the long-term impact of these dietary patterns on iodine status and thyroid function in children. Given our findings, it may also be necessary to consider new guidelines for supplementing children following VG and VN diets to ensure their iodine needs are met.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

30308 - Nutrition, Dietetics

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2023

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

ISSN

0954-3007

e-ISSN

1476-5640

Volume of the periodical

77

Issue of the periodical within the volume

11

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

10

Pages from-to

1061-1070

UT code for WoS article

001034502500002

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85165614067