Endemic goiter in Austria. Is iodine deficiency the primary cause of goiter?
Grubeck-Loebenstein, B.; Kletter, K.; Kiss, A.; Vierhapper, H.; Waldhäusl, W.
Schweizerische Medizinische Wochenschrift 112(44): 1526-1530
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-7672 PMID: 7156942 Document Number: 185388
In spite of government-regulated iodide admixture to table salt, the incidence of goiter is still high in Austria. Iodine excretion and thyroid function were therefore investigated in 80 patients suffering from ordinary goiter in whom thyroid size and resulting symptoms had increased lately. 25 euthyroid non-goitrous subjects served as controls. 48% of the goitrous patients investigated presented with iodine excretion of less than 70 micrograms/24 h, suggesting an insufficient iodine supply. Thyroid I131 uptake, basal and TRH-stimulated plasma TSH concentrations, and serum T3 levels were higher, whereas serum T4 levels were lower in these patients than in goitrous patients with higher iodine excretion and non-goitrous controls. Iodine deficiency thus appears to be of pathogenetic relevance in about half of the goitrous Austrian population. Other factors enhancing goiter development seem to assume particular importance in goitrous patients with a sufficient iodine supply.