TRACE ELEMENTS IN MEDICINE (MOSCOW)
2015. 16(4): 41-44
ORIGINAL PAPERS

HAIR IODINE CONTENT AS AN INDEX OF IODINE STATUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL AND POPULATION LEVEL

A.L. Gorbachev1, A.V. Skalny2

1 North-East State University, Portovaya str. 13, Magadan, 685000, Russia
2 Centre for Biotic Medicine, Zemlyanoi val 46, 105064, Moscow, Russia

DOI: 10.19112/2413-6174-2015-16-4-41-44 

ABSTRACT. One of the world common medical and social problems is iodine deficiency and related diseases. The World Health Organization recommends the method of ioduria to determine urinal iodine and ascertain a population iodine rate. The method is used for only epidemiological studies since personal body iodine concentration is a dynamic value and, thus, cannot demonstrate iodine supply of that very person. In this regard, to choose an adequate method of revealing personal iodine status and a population iodine deficiency rate has been a matter of principle. In order to explore the eligibility of using hair samples as a bioindicator for determining the environmental iodine rate and the body iodine provision, we have examined residents of different geographic areas and comparatively analyzed their urinal and hair iodine content. The examinees were from two regions of Northern Russia, namely the Magadan and Arkhangelsk regions. Within each region there were studied coastal areas (as iodine sufficient) and continental areas (as iodine deficient). The study was carried out during the same season on the same populations of prepubertal-age children. Based on the obtained data we concluded that hair samples can serve as the bioindicator of iodine status in continental areas that are prevalent through the country. Besides, as compared to urine, this substrate has been more simple and easy to collect and keep it as well as suitable to use it for studying other trace elements in-parallel with iodine. Thus, hair spectral analysis is an alternative and perspective method of ascertaining iodine status in iodine deficient regions of Russia.

KEYWORDS: iodine deficiency, ioduria, hair spectral analysis.