A Pilot Study for Children and Pregnant Women’s Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Test for Screening Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) in Sindhupalchowk and Myagdi Districts

Abstract

Background: Iodine deficiency affects children impairing their mental and motor functions, and manifestations range from small neurological changes, to impaired learning ability. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the status of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) in children born from iodine supplemented mothers during pregnancy and IDD patients or the likely IDD in early (first) stage of pregnancy of the pregnant women and to assess the maternal and children health status. Methods: A total of 71 blood samples, from 34 children born from iodine supplemented mothers from Sindhupalchowk, and 37 pregnant mothers from Myagdi, were collected in filter papers. The collected filter paper blood samples were analyzed for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in Japan for screening IDD. Results: The TSH test of pregnant mothers from Myagdi Hospital revealed that 81% had normal TSH and about 19% had elevated TSH. The median TSH of pregnant women was 0.80 IU/ml. Median urinary iodine excretions of the pregnant women of Myagdi and Parbat districts were 370µg/L and 275µg/L respectively. The median TSH value of all sampled children was 0.85 IU/ml. The median urinary iodine excretion of the children is 256.07µg/L. Regarding anthropometric measurements of children born from mothers supplemented with iodine during pregnancy, the proportion of malnourished children based on weight for age (underweight) was 8.8%, malnourished children based on height for age (stunting) was 32.3%, and malnourished children based on chest head circumference ratio was 8.8%. Conclusions: Invisible iodine deficiency disorders are still a problem in pregnant women in Nepal and iodine supplementation during pregnancy will have beneficial effect in reducing IDD in children. Keywords: children; pregnant women;; iodine deficiency disorder; screening; thyroid stimulating hormone.