Similar Concentrations of Thyroidal lodothyronines and T₃/T₄ Ratio in Normal Thyroids from Two Yugoslav Districts with Different Iodine Intake^a)^b)

Abstract

In spite of different daily iodine intake in two yugoslav districts (littoral-Split 297 +/- 76 (Mean +/- SD) and continental-Zagreb 111 +/- 36 micrograms/g creatinine, p less than 0.001), thyroidal iodothyronine concentrations and T4/T3 ratio in normal post mortem thyroids were comparable. T4 was 260.0 +/- 42.6 micrograms/g w.w. (Mean +/- SE) in Split group vrs. 279.9 +/- 59.4 in Zagreb. T3 was 12.8-2.0 vrs. 12.8 +/- 2.2 and T4/T3 ratio 21.6 +/- 1.9 vrs. 21.1 +/- 2.9 in Split and Zagreb, respectively. It has been concluded that relatively small difference in iodine intake has no effect on thyroidal concentrations of iodothyronines and T4/T3 ratio.

Daily Iodine Intake in Healthy Children and Adults and in Goitrous Patients in Nonendemic Yugoslav Area

“…However, the actual values ranged froni 3.8 to 11.5 mg of iodine/kg salt (Lancet, 1985), and it is very probable that the difference in iodine intake between endemic and nonendemic areas are brought about rather by the disparate amount of the iodine in table salt than by the different nutritional habits. Nevertheless, the nutritional habits are to blame for different iodine intake in nonenclemic areas, and we have observed earlier a considerable difference in iodine intake between two nonendernic (continental and coastal) yugoslav areas, though the thyroid hormones in sera (Banovac et al, 1981) and thyroid tissues (Solter et al, 1987) were invariant.…”