Children Born to Iodine Deficient Women Poor in Literacy

An Australian research says that mothers with mild iodine deficiency are more likely to have children weak in spelling, grammar and literacy, reports Reuter Health.

Previous researches focused on the link between mothers having severe iodine deficiency and children with mental disabilities. But the study researchers concentrated on the effect of mild iodine deficiency in mothers on their children. They found that these children performed 6 percent to 10 percent worse than peers in the school.

"This is to show in areas where there is even mild deficiency it can have long-term impacts on children," said Kristen Hynes, the study's lead author from the University of Tasmania in Sandy Bay.

The study found that it is important for a pregnant woman to get sufficient supply of iodine for the baby's brain development. Past research has revealed that women with severe iodine deficiency have babies with motor, cognitive and auditory defects.

An average adult is recommended to consume 150 micrograms (mcg) of iodine every day and pregnant women are advised to get 220 mcg of iodine by the U.S. Institute of Medicine.  They also recommend women who are breastfeeding to get 290 mcg.

The study researchers examined the data of 228 pregnant women from a Tasmanian hospital between 1999 and 2001 and the children they delivered at the time.

The researchers compared the consistent test scores of the 9-year-old children born to women with urinary iodine levels below 150 mcg (mildly deficient) during pregnancy to the children of women whose iodine levels exceeded 150 mcg (sufficient).

The children of iodine deficient women scored about 371 points on the national student test for spelling and about 377 points for grammar. While children of women with sufficient levels of iodine scored 412 points for spelling and 408 points for grammar. The average score for entire Tasmania for that age group was around 390 for spelling and about 410 for grammar.

The researchers also found that children born to mothers with mild iodine deficiency scored about 6 percent lower on English literacy scores compared to the children of mothers with sufficient iodine levels. However, the researchers were not certain if the mother's low iodine levels were associated with a child's poor mental ability but said there was some association. "I think people working in education will realize this is important, but there are a lot of other things going on as well," Dr Hynes said.