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Reference Intervals of Serum Iodine Concentration in Chinese Pregnant Women

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Abstract

The study aims to establish trimester-specific reference ranges for serum iodine (SI) in Chinese pregnant women and explore its associations with maternal and infantile thyroid function. Apparently healthy pregnant women were enrolled during their first antenatal visit. Fasting venous and spot urine samples were collected for determining serum and urinary iodine (UI) levels by a validated inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyrotropin (TSH), and neonatal TSH levels were tested by electro-chemiluminescent assay. The reference ranges of SI were established by percentile method and reported as 2.5–97.5%. ROC analysis was applied to compare the discriminative ability of SI, UI, and UI to urinary creatine ratio (UI /UCr) in early pregnancy for various thyroid conditions. The trimester-specific reference ranges of SI for Chinese pregnant women were 60.91–114.53 μg/L for the first trimester (T1, n = 1029), 54.57–103.42 μg/L for the second trimester (T2, n = 379), and 52.03–110.40 μg/L for the third trimester (T3, n = 455). Maternal SI at T1 but not UI and UI/UCr was significantly correlated with FT3 (r = 0.393, P < 0.001), FT4 (r = 0.637, P < 0.001), and TSH (r = −0.299, P<0.001). Maternal SI change% from T1 to T2 (but not SI change% from T1 to T3) had marginal correlation with neonatal TSH (r=−0.106, P=0.046). ROC analysis showed that maternal SI at T1 had better predictability for several thyroid conditions than UIC and UI/UCr.

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Data Availability

The original datasets are not publicly available due to ethical limitations publishing medical record data, but available from the corresponding author on reasonable request under strict confidential process.

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Acknowledgments

Both ZML and YW conceptualized the topic, made results explanation, and drafted the manuscript; HHL, SJZ, and MML researched data, made data collection and analysis; Dr. WJP coordinated the study investigation and approved data utility; CGC, CW, YBY, ZYS, and SYZ provided professional consultations, helped in data interpretation, critically reviewed, and commented on the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

We are grateful to research members for their efforts in field investigation and data collection. We greatly appreciate the doctors and nurses in the Huizhou Hospital for their keen assistance in facilitating participants’ recruitment and investigation and data coordination. We acknowledge the Department of Clinical Laboratory and Department of Hospital Information Management of Huizhou First Mother-infant Hospital for providing great support in analyzing bio-specimens and approval of the data utility.

Funding

The research was funded by the “Hundred Talents Program” of Sun Yat-sen University (Grant No: 51000-18841203) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No.82073533).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University (North Campus), Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China

    Yi Wu, Huan-huan Long, Su-juan Zhang, Min-Min Li & Zhao-min Liu

  2. Department of Clinical Nutrition, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510235, People’s Republic of China

    Chao-gang Chen & Cheng Wang

  3. Department of Paediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China

    Zheng-yu Sheng

  4. Department of Clinical Nutrition, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of China

    Yan-bin Ye

  5. Department of Clinical Nutrition, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China

    Shu-yu Zuo

  6. Huizhou First Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Guangdong Province, Huizhou, 516001, People’s Republic of China

    Wen-jing Pan

Authors
  1. Yi Wu
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  11. Zhao-min Liu
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wen-jing Pan or Zhao-min Liu.

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Ethics Approval

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by The Ethics Committees of Huizhou First Mother and Child Health-care Hospital (protocol code: 2018002 and date of approval: 9, March, 2018).

Consent to Participate

Informed consent has been obtained from all women at enrolment in the Huizhou Birth Cohort.

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The authors declare no competing interest.

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Wu, Y., Long, Hh., Zhang, Sj. et al. Reference Intervals of Serum Iodine Concentration in Chinese Pregnant Women. Biol Trace Elem Res 202, 2457–2465 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03859-x

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