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Iodine and the Brain pp 269–278Cite as

Iodine Deficiency, Implications for Mental and Psychomotor Development in Children1

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Abstract

Endemic goiter and endemic cretinism are an important national health problem in various countries. Although several ecological factors may contribute to the development of endemic goiter (1–3), iodine deficiency is assumed to be the major one (4). This assumption is supported by the positive effects of prophylactic measures- especially the administration of iodinated salt and iodized oil — on the mental and physical development of people from severely iodine-deficient areas. For its hormone production, the thyroid gland requires a certain amount of iodine, which is taken in the form of iodinated salts present in food and drinking water. Severe and prolonged iodine deficiency frequently leads to an enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter), the volume of which may vary strongly. Such an enlargement is found more often in females than in males (5–9). Goiter is usually defined in the terms proposed by Perez et al. (10), a definition later adopted by the World Health Organization in a slightly different wording: “a thyroid gland whose lateral lobes have a volume greater than the terminal phalanges of the thumbs of the person being examined will be considered goitrous”. The volume of the enlargement is usually defined according to a four-graded division, ranging from OB (detectable only by palpation and not visible even when the neck is fully extended) to III (visible from a long distance).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and Test Development, Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Nico Bleichrodt

  2. Unidad de Endocrinologia Experimental, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas,, C.S.I.C. y Facultad de Medicina U.A.M., Arzobispo Morcillo 4, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Escobar del Rey, Gabriella Morreale de Escobar, Isabel Garcia & Carmen Rubio

Authors
  1. Nico Bleichrodt
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  2. Francisco Escobar del Rey
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  3. Gabriella Morreale de Escobar
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  4. Isabel Garcia
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  5. Carmen Rubio
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    G. Robert DeLong

  2. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Jacob Robbins  & Peter G. Condliffe  & 

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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York

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Bleichrodt, N., Escobar del Rey, F., Morreale de Escobar, G., Garcia, I., Rubio, C. (1989). Iodine Deficiency, Implications for Mental and Psychomotor Development in Children1 . In: DeLong, G.R., Robbins, J., Condliffe, P.G. (eds) Iodine and the Brain. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0765-5_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0765-5_25

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8071-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0765-5

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