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December 19, 2012

Iodine Supplementation During Pregnancy and Lactation

Author Affiliations

Author Affiliations: George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC (Dr Stagnaro-Green); Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston (Dr Sullivan); and Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Pearce).

JAMA. 2012;308(23):2463-2464. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.45423

Dietary iodine intake is obligatory for the production of thyroid hormones. Despite substantial public health advances over the past 3 decades, iodine deficiency currently affects 1.92 billion people globally.1 Dietary iodine requirements are increased during pregnancy due to increased thyroid hormone production, increased renal iodine losses, and fetal iodine requirements.2 Dietary requirements remain increased in lactation due to the concentration of iodine in breast milk.

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