Girls' lack of iodine alarms experts

Photo / APN

A generation of schoolgirls are growing up deficient in the vital mineral iodine, putting their unborn children at risk, a British study has found.

Seven out of 10 teenage girls were found to be deficient in the mineral in a Britain-wide survey which the researchers say is of "potential major public health importance".

Iodine is essential for the neurological development of the fetus. The results suggest at least 100,000 babies may be intellectually handicapped annually.

The finding has come after decades in which iodine levels in the British population were thought to be adequate. "We were lulled into a false sense of security" said Mark Vanderpump, of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, who led the study.

Commenting on the findings, published yesterday in the Lancet, a US expert in endocrinology says it is "unconscionable" that a country like Britain should be iodine deficient in the 21st century.

Elizabeth Pearce of the University of Boston calls for all salt sold in Britain to be iodised and recommends pregnant women take a vitamin supplement including the mineral.

Iodine is vital for the manufacture of a hormone in the body which controls the metabolic rate, affecting development. But its most crucial role is in the development of the unborn fetus's brain and nervous system.

- Independent