Iodine deficiency from pregnancy to childhood

Iodine is a micronutrient essential for mammalian life because it is critical for the synthesis of thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3), which contain in their molecules four and three atoms of iodine, respectively. Thyroid hormones (TH) are important for the growth and development of different tissues, especially the central nervous system and the skeleton, for the cardiac and gastrointestinal function, and for the regulation of the energy homeostasis throughout life. Disturbances in TH availability during early embryonic development, as in maternal iodine deficiency, cause severe neurological abnormalities in the newborns [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers iodine deficiency to be “the single most important preventable cause of brain damage” worldwide [2]. Despite the great improvements in global iodine nutrition in the last century, it is currently estimated that iodine deficiency still affects 241 million school-aged children [3].