Iodine Deficiency in Europe

The disorders induced by iodine deficiency affect at least one billion people. Because ofits effects on brain development, iodinedeficiency is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation in the world. Therefore, the United Nations and the Heads of State of almost all the world's countries represented at the Summit for Children in 1990 adopted resolutions to eradicate the disorders induced by iodine deficiency (IDD) by the year 2000. For geological and socio-economic reasons, most of the populations affected by iodine deficiency disorders live in isolated and usually mountainous areas, in pre industrialized parts ofthe world. The problem of iodine deficiency in Europe has been greatly underestimated in the last decades. After the remarkable studies on the effects of iodine deficiency and their prevention and correction in Switzerland, IDD was generally considered no longer a significant public health problem in Europe. However, surveys carried out in the early 1980's under the auspices of the European Thyroid Association, clearly demonstrated the persistence of moderately or even severely affected areas. These surveys also highlighted the lack ofinformation about large parts ofEurope, especially its eastern part. It is only quite recently, following major changes in international relations and thanks to the support of UNICEF, WHO, the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and the European Thyroid Association, that more extensive surveys have been conducted in several parts of Europe hitherto almost unexplored. These surveys showed that most European countries were iodine deficient.

Zusammenfassung
Proceedings of a workshop held in Brussels, Belgium, April 24-28, 1992

Inhalt
Requirements of iodine in humans.- Sources of dietary iodine in industrialized countries.- The iodine deficiency disorders.- Control of thyroid growth.- Autoregulation of thyroid function by iodide.- Iodine kinetics in iodine deficiency.- Goitrogenesis in iodine deficiency.- Selenium, iodine, and the thyroid.- Thyroid dysfunction induced by excess iodine.- Iodine excess and thyroid autoimmunity.- Nutritional informations for the elimination of IDD in Europe.- Requirements for goiter surveys and the determination of thyroid size.- Biochemical evaluation of iodine status.- Status of iodine nutrition in the United States.- Iodine intake in Canada.- The status of iodine nutrition in Australia.- Status of iodine nutrition in Japan.- Iodine in the food chain.- Animal studies of iodized oils: Iodine disposition and physiological effects.- Feto-maternal thyroid hormone relationships in iodine deficiency: An experimental approach.- Thyroid regulation during pregnancy.- Goitre in pregnancy in Germany.- Neonatal thyroid function in iodine deficiency.- Congenital hypothyroid screening programs and the sensitive thyrotropin assay: Strategies for the surveillance of iodine deficiency disorders.- National program of iodine prophylaxis and neonatal thyroid function.- Consequences of iodine fall out: Dosimetric and radiobiological considerations.- Dietary iodine supply and radioiodine uptake: The case for generalized iodine prophylaxis.- Use of potassium iodide to minimize thyroid radiation from radioactive fall-out.- Iodization of salt and food. Technical and legal aspects.- Study of a system of continuous iodine release into water (RhodifuseR iode).- Iodine supplementation to a public water supply: An efficient method for correcting iodine deficiency.- Monitoring of programs of iodineprophylaxis in industrialized countries.- Implementation of iodine deficiency disorders elimination programs in Europe.- Urinary excretion of iodine in Norway.- The state of iodine nutrition in Sweden.- Present state of endemic goitre in Finland.- Iodine intake in Denmark Influence on the pattern of thyroid disease.- Status of iodine deficiency in Ireland.- Status of iodine nutrition in the United Kingdom.- Iodine and goitre in The Netherlands. A role for nitrate pollution?.- Iodine deficiency diseases and interdisciplinary iodine prophylaxis in the Eastern part of Germany before and after the German reunification.- Present status of iodine deficiency in Poland.- Iodine deficiency disorders and endemic goiter in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).- Some problems of endemic goiter in Czecho-Slovakia yesterday, today and tomorrow.- Status of iodine nutrition and thyroid function in Belgium.- Goitre prevalence and salt iodization in France.- Status of iodine nutrition in Switzerland.- Status of iodine nutrition in Europe: National update, Austria.- Status of iodine nutrition in Hungary.- The status of iodine nutrition in Romania.- Endemic goiter in Portugal.- Iodine deficiency in Spain: Update of a widespread and persisting problem.- Status of iodine nutrition in Italy.- Endemic goiter in Croatia.- Status of iodine nutrition in Bulgaria.- Iodine nutrition and iodine deficiency disorders in Greece: Signs of improvement.- Endemic goiter and iodine deficiency in Turkey.- Abstracts of the poster presentation N° 137.- General Comments, Conclusions, and Final Recommendations.- Conclusions and Recommendations.- Speakers.- Discussants.- Author Index.