Evaluation of Iodine deficiency in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Objective: to investigate the incidence of iodine deficiency (id) and its effects on mental function in children referred to the dr. sami ulus maternity and children’s training and research hospital with a prospective diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (adhd). methods: the study was conducted on 89 children referred in the period from september 2009 to june 2010 with a diagnosis of adhd. a questionnaire was given to all parents. conners’ rating scales were applied to the parents (cprs) and teachers (ctrs),and revised wechsler intelligence scale for children (wisc-r) to the children. serum thyroid-stimulating hormone,free triiodothyronine and free thyroxine,thyroglobulin,anti-thyroid peroxidase,antithyroglobulin,and urinary iodine levels were measured in all children. results: median age was 9.41±1.95 years,and 83.1% of subjects were male. the mean urinary iodine level of the children was 92.56±22.25 µg/l. id was detected in 71.9% of subjects and all were mild id. there was no significant relationship between urinary iodine levels with wisc-r subtest scores and cprs. however,a significant association was found between urinary iodine levels and hyperactivity section of ctrs (p<0.05). likewise,a significant relationship was found between learning disorder/mental retardation diagnosis and freedom subtest of wisc-r (p<0.05). conclusion: this study highlights the effects of id on comprehension,perception,attention,and learning. however,the results need to be supported by new randomized controlled trials. © 2016,journal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology,published by galenos publishing.