After 15 years of encouraging the use of iodized salt, Italy is now "iodo-sufficient," with a significant reduction in the dangers associated with nutritional iodine shortage, particularly goiter and its progression to nodular goiter, even though some critical issues remain for iodine nutrition in pregnancy. It was also determined that the national iodoprophylaxis programme is safe. This was reported in a study conducted by the ISS's National Observatory for the Monitoring of Iodoprophylaxis in Italy (Osnami), which was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The study was carried out on a nationwide basis from 2015 to 2019. The consumption of iodized salt was assessed in a sample of approximately 165 thousand adults and 1,000 school canteens, while the concentration of iodine in urine, prevalence of goiter and thyroid nodules, and presence of thyroid autoimmunity were assessed in over 4,300 children aged 11 to 13 years. The amount of thyroid hormone TSH, a marker used to screen for congenital hypothyroidism and useful for assessing iodine intake during pregnancy, was measured in approximately 200,000 newborns, while cases of hyperthyroidism were estimated indirectly using prescriptions for methimazole, a drug used to treat this condition.
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