Infants, daily iodine requirements

Iodide or iodate are used to iodize salt. The level of salt iodization depends on per capita salt consumption, moisture, light, heat, and contaminants. The recommended daily iodine requirements are 50 pg for infants, 90 pg for children (2-6 yrs), 120 pg for schoolchildren (7-12 yrs), 150 pg for adults and 200 pg for pregnant and lactating women. 

Table 50.1 Daily iodine requirements in infants and children (RDA)...

There are nine enteral preparations suitable for 1-6 years. At a minimal daily amino acid requirement of 3g amino acid per kg bodyweight, an infant aged 1 year with a weight of 10 kg and an infant at 6 years would have an iodine intake of 109-l46pg/day and 145-194pg/day, respectively. The iodine content of all these preparations is higher than the iodine requirement of 90 pg/day, if used as a sole source of nutrition. 

Preparations for the treatment of miscellaneous disorders of amino acid metabolism are available for sulfite oxidase deficiency, hyperlysinemia and nonketotic hyperglycinemia (Table 41.11). There are formulas suitable for the first year of life. At a minimal daily amino acid requirement of 3 g amino acid per kg bodyweight, a newborn term infant of average birth weight of 3.5 kg, and the infant at 1 year would have an iodine intake of 38 pg/day and 108 pg/day, respectively. 

Consequently, the workshop recommends specific monitoring of iodine intake of mothers and infants in Europe by periodic analysis of urinary iodine levels, and to the extent feasible, of serum TSH and thyroid hormone measures. The daily intake of iodine should be at least 200 pg in pregnant and lactating women and 90-120 pg in young infants. To reach these objectives, the mothers diet should be systematically supplemented with iodine whenever necessary, by vitamins/minerals tablets as prescribed by physicians. Breast milk is the best source of iodine for the infant, and exclusive breast feeding for 4-6 months should be encouraged. However, when circumstances require that infants receive formula, the iodine content of formula milk should be increased fiom the traditional recommendation of S pg/dl milk to 10 pg/dl for full term and 20 pg/dl for premature babies. 

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