Abstract. It is well known that iodine is an indispensable component of thyroid hormones. The discovery of iodine deficiency and its adverse effects upon human beings is an instructive example of the transfer of scientific and medical knowledge to the benefit of the public health. Physicians have known for more than a century that deficient iodine intake is associated with endemic goiter, cretinism, and that it increases neonatal mortality. In this paper, statistical analysis is used to objectively verify the mathematical relationships of deficient maternal urinary iodine to the results of thyroid function tests (T3, T4, and TSH) of both low-iodine mothers and their neonates. In general, complex functional systems, such as human physiological mechanisms, are more easily interpreted based on true mathematical models. The mathematical relationships of the multiple variables analyzed in this paper are established by the statistical method of joint generalized linear modeling. The results of the statistical analysis are highly relevant to the diagnostic and therapeutic practices of clinicians who attend to pregnant women, their in utero embryos and fetuses, the women’s neonates after delivery, and by extension, the developmental (especially neurological) well-being of the offsprings as they mature. The analysis establishes relationships important to the health and well-being of both mothers and their neonates; simultaneously, it shows the exceptional utility of the statistical method of joint generalized linear modeling.

Keywords Hyperthyroidism • Hypothyroidism • Iodine • Joint generalized linear model • Structured dispersion • Thyroid functions • Urinary iodine excretion


Citation: Das, R.N.: The role of iodine in the thyroid status of mothers and their neonates. Thyroid Science, 6(2):1-15, 2011.

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