Plasma selenium and urinary iodine in patients with goiter

Hekimsoy Z.; Biberoglu S.; Kirkali G.; Bicer N.; Erbayraktar Z.

Plasma selenium and urinary iodine in patients with goiter

Date

2004

Authors

Publisher

Dustri-Verlag Dr. Karl Feistle

Abstract

Objective: Iodine deficiency and related disorders are still major public health problems, with a high prevalence of endemic goiter in many regions of Turkey. In addition to measuring iodine excretion rates in patients with diffuse or nodular goiter, we examined plasma selenium concentrations, to see whether selenium deficiency might be related to goiterogenesis in our region. Methods: Seventy-two outpatients with goiter (67 female, 5 male; age 43.7 ± 13.0 years) presenting consecutively to our university medical center endocrinology clinic, were included in the study group. The control group consisted of 30 subjects (25 female, 5 male; age 40.6 ± 13.6 years) who were healthy and did not have any known thyroid disease. None of the subjects were using medications containing selenium or iodine. Serum thyroid hormones, plasma selenium and urinary iodine levels were measured, and an ultrasound of the thyroid was performed in both groups. Results: Serum thyroid hormone levels were in the normal range in both groups and the difference was not significant. Mean plasma selenium levels in the study and control groups were not significantly different (p = 0.30). However, urinary iodine excretion was significantly lower in the study group (17.4 ± 12.6 μg/l vs 23.2 ± 12.2 μg/l, p = 0.03). In both study and control group patients, a significant negative correlation between thyroid volume and urinary iodine levels was observed. Conclusion: Moderate to severe iodine deficiency is the primary etiologic factor for endemic goiter in our region. Plasma selenium levels were not related to the presence or absence of goiter in our population.