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An improvement in the iodine status of iodine deficient
children, can have significant beneficial effects on mental performance,
a new study suggests.
Researchers originally planned the study, to be
double-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled. However, the introduction
of an adequate supply of iodized salt into the community caused a change
in that design, as all children were getting increased iodine levels.
They studied a group of 196 initially iodine-deficient
children, aged 7 to 11 years, in northern Benin.
The children's urinary iodine concentrations were
measured and they were split into 2 groups:
- children with improved iodine status
- children with unchanged iodine status
Changes in mental and psychomotor performance were
compared between the 2 groups.
Researchers found that the children
with increased urinary iodine concentrations had a significantly greater
increase in performance on the combination of mental tests
than did the group with no change in urinary iodine concentrations.
The authors conclude that "An improvement in
iodine status, rather than iodine status itself, determined mental performance
in this population, which was initially iodine deficient. These findings
suggest a "catch-up" effect in terms of mental performance."
American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition November, 2000; 72: 1179-1185
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