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Open Access 01-12-2019 | Original Contribution

Language delay and poorer school performance in children of mothers with inadequate iodine intake in pregnancy: results from follow-up at 8 years in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study

Authors: Marianne H. Abel, Ragnhild E. Brandlistuen, Ida H. Caspersen, Heidi Aase, Liv E. Torheim, Helle Margrete Meltzer, Anne Lise Brantsaeter

Published in: European Journal of Nutrition | Issue 8/2019

Abstract

Purpose

Some studies indicate that mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency in pregnant women might negatively affect offspring neurocognitive development, including previous results from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study (MoBa) exploring maternally reported child development at age 3 years. The aim of this follow-up study was to investigate whether maternal iodine intake in pregnancy is associated with language and learning at 8 years of age.

Methods

The study sample includes 39,471 mother–child pairs participating in MoBa with available information from a validated food frequency questionnaire covering the first half of pregnancy and a questionnaire on child neurocognitive development at 8 years. Multivariable regression was used to explore associations of iodine intake from food and supplements with maternally reported child outcomes.

Results

Maternal iodine intake from food less than ~ 150 µg/day was associated with poorer child language skills (p-overall = 0.013), reading skills (p-overall = 0.019), and writing skills (p-overall = 0.004) as well as poorer school test result in reading (p < 0.001), and increased likelihood of the child receiving special educational services (p-overall = 0.042) (in non-iodine supplement users). Although significant, differences were generally small. Maternal use of iodine supplements in pregnancy was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes.

Conclusions

Low habitual iodine intake in pregnant women, i.e., lower than the recommended intake for non-pregnant women, was associated with mothers reporting poorer child language, school performance, and increased likelihood of special educational services. We found no indications of benefits or harm of using iodine-containing supplements in pregnancy. Initiating use in pregnancy might be too late.

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Title: Language delay and poorer school performance in children of mothers with inadequate iodine intake in pregnancy: results from follow-up at 8 years in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study
Authors: Marianne H. Abel
Ragnhild E. Brandlistuen
Ida H. Caspersen
Heidi Aase
Liv E. Torheim
Helle Margrete Meltzer
Anne Lise Brantsaeter
Publication date: 01-12-2019
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: European Journal of Nutrition / Issue 8/2019
Print ISSN: 1436-6207
Electronic ISSN: 1436-6215
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1850-7

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