PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Breastfeeding provides babies with iodine

2013-11-25
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Raschida Bouhouch
raschida.bouhouch@hest.ethz.ch
41-446-324-315
ETH Zurich
Breastfeeding provides babies with iodine This news release is available in German.

Iodine is essential for the human body. This trace element is especially crucial for infants in order to ensure healthy development. Iodine deficiency can disrupt growth and damage the nervous system. In iodine-poor regions, such as Switzerland with its iodine-deficient soils, iodised salt is recommended for use in cooking and the food industry. So newborns generally receive enough of the trace element through breast milk and baby food containing added iodine. However, iodised salt or supplemented baby food are not available everywhere, particularly in remote areas of developing countries, and do not always reach vulnerable segments of the population.

To ensure newborns receive enough of the trace element, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that new mothers take one iodine capsule to provide a year's dose of iodine for the mother and child by way of breastfeeding. If breastfeeding is not possible, physicians give a lower concentration pill directly to the infant. The effectiveness of these two methods, however, had never been tested. For the first time, a team of researchers from ETH compared the direct administration of iodine with indirect nourishment through breast milk in newborns and monitored the iodine status of mothers and their babies over a one-year period. In the course of the study, they found that giving an iodine capsule to the mother is more effective than administering it to the child directly. However, both methods are insufficient to ensure that both mother and child receive enough of the trace element.

All reserves put into breast milk

Raschida Bouhouch, a PhD student in the Laboratory of Human Nutrition at ETH, and her colleagues conducted a blind study of 241 mother-and-child pairings in Morocco. Half the mothers were given an iodine capsule and the baby a placebo. The parameters were reversed for the other half of participants. The pills were administered along with the first vaccination given during the first eight weeks following birth. Over the next nine months, Bouhouch and her colleagues measured the iodine concentration in breast milk and urine of the mother and her child to determine their iodine status.

Although administration of iodine to the mother passed an astonishing amount of the trace element from the mother's breast milk to the child, the iodine concentration in the urine of the baby was well below the critical threshold just nine months after birth. In the case of the mother herself, the one-time dose was unable to remedy the iodine deficiency at any point in time. "The mother's body is apparently programmed to put all its iodine reserves into nourishing the child and does not keep sufficient reserves for itself," explains Bouhouch. Shortly after birth, the infants had a much better iodine status than their mothers; however, the values were still under the minimum threshold needed by the body.

WHO recommendations inadequate

In the comparison, administration of iodine directly to the newborn was significantly less effective than indirect administration through breast milk. One reason for this might be that the child's body absorbs the trace element better when it is passed through breast milk than in a pre-processed form. The iodine status of the infants who received the capsule directly was usually below the threshold.

"That does not mean that direct iodine administration is not a good thing," emphasised Bouhouch. Both methods reduced disorders of the thyroid, which requires iodine in order to produce hormones in the infant. According to Bouhouch, WHO's recommendation still needs to be adjusted, however, as a one-time iodine dose is effective for only about six months rather than an entire year as previously thought. The iodine capsule is apparently insufficient to raise the mother's iodine status to a healthy level either. "It would be better to give the mothers iodine twice instead of only once a year." Even when iodine was administered directly to the infant, more regular and lower doses were reported to be preferable. The strategy undertaken in the study to give the iodine capsule regularly at the time of the first vaccination after birth is also a highly promising approach that could become an official recommendation.

In addition, the researchers led by Michael Zimmermann, ETH Professor of Human Nutrition and director of the study, are investigating how the high iodine dose is metabolised in the bodies of children and mothers. The reaction inside the body is still not fully understood.

### Literature reference:

Bouhouch RR, Bouhouch S, Cherkaoui M, Aboussad A, Stinca S, Haldimann M, Andersson M, Zimmermann MB: Direct iodine supplementation of infants versus supplementation of their breastfeeding mothers: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, November 22, 2013. DOI: 10.1016/S2213-8587(13)70155-4


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Coumarins show potency as anti-inflammatory drugs

2013-11-25
Coumarins show potency as anti-inflammatory drugs New methods for the laboratory-scale synthesis of coumarin-based drugs were developed in a recent study completed at the University of Eastern Finland. In his doctoral thesis, Lic. Phil. Juri Timonen also developed new ...

Teens 'eat more, cheat more' after playing violent video games

2013-11-25
Teens 'eat more, cheat more' after playing violent video games Research finds effects go beyond increase in aggression COLUMBUS, Ohio – Playing violent video games not only increases aggression, it also leads to less self-control and more cheating, a new study finds. Researchers ...

Making sense of sensation in autism

2013-11-25
Making sense of sensation in autism Occupational therapy improves ability to perform everyday tasks in children with autism (PHILADELPHIA) – In one of the first randomized control trials studying an intervention for sensory problems in children with ...

Study finds 1 in 10 high school students hurt by dating partners

2013-11-25
Study finds 1 in 10 high school students hurt by dating partners Father of slain dating violence victim urges action (BOSTON) -- One in 10 high school youth in the U.S. reports having been hit or physically hurt by a dating partner in the past year, according ...

Chromosomes show off their shapes

2013-11-25
Chromosomes show off their shapes Chromosomes – the 46 tightly-wrapped packages of genetic material in our cells – are iconically depicted as X-shaped formations. However, those neat X's only appear when a cell is about to divide and the entire contents of ...

Not so dumb

2013-11-25
Not so dumb Mysterious brain cells called microglia are starting to reveal their secrets thanks to research conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Until recently, most of the glory in brain research went to neurons. For more than a century, these ...

Super SQUID

2013-11-25
Super SQUID Weizmann Institute scientists have taken a quantum leap toward understanding the phenomenon known as superconductivity: They have created the world's smallest SQUID – a device used to measure magnetic fields – which has broken the world record ...

The reality behind Europe's response to climate change

2013-11-25
The reality behind Europe's response to climate change 1 in every 3 European cities studied have no plans yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions British cities – unlike their counterparts on the mainland - are taking the lead in making plans to curb and handle the impact ...

Customized palliative care models improve care and reduce health care costs

2013-11-25
Customized palliative care models improve care and reduce health care costs New Rochelle, NY, November 25, 2013—For high-risk geriatric patients, improved palliative care that is matched to their changing needs at home can ...

Co-transplanted cells and treadmill training aids rats with spinal cord injury

2013-11-25
Co-transplanted cells and treadmill training aids rats with spinal cord injury Putnam Valley, NY. (Nov. 25 2013) – After Schwann cells (SCs), the principal cells in the peripheral nervous system, and olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Breastfeeding provides babies with iodine