Indicators to assess iodine status in populations are important for determining the magnitude and distribution of iodine deficiency as a public health problem and for monitoring and evaluating the impact of implemented public health programmes to address iodine deficiency. Current guidance on indicators for assessing iodine status and the control of iodine deficiency disorders is available in a 3rd edition (2007) of a programme managers guide on the Assessment of iodine deficiency disorders and monitoring their elimination.
As new research on these indicators has been published and more evidence is available for vulnerable population groups such as pregnant women, lactating women and infants, there is a need to revisit the indicators and thresholds recommended for defining iodine adequacy and status. WHO has therefore formed a group of global experts on iodine nutrition to support this work. They have jointly reviewed the current guidance and have provided advice on the scope of work (i.e. priority indicators and key open issues).
Five priority indicators have been proposed (urinary iodine concentration, breast milk iodine concentration, thyroid volume, thyroid stimulating hormone and thyroglobulin) and WHO is launching a public consultation on the key open issues that were identified for these indicators.
We aim to capture input from all relevant stakeholders working in iodine nutrition, including those planning surveys and research studies, those working in the field to collect data, laboratory technicians who analyse samples, statisticians and data analysts who are familiar with data manipulation, and public health officials responsible for iodine nutrition programmes.
When finalized, the key open issues will be reformulated as key questions and prioritized for synthesizing the evidence base and updating guidance on the use of indicators for iodine status assessment.
General guidance on providing comments
Comments on the key open issues will be accepted via the online form that can be accessed until 10 September 2023. All comments will be reviewed and a summary will be presented to WHO’s external experts group for finalizing.
Contact
Please direct questions regarding this consultation to NFS@who.int with the subject “Iodine indicators”