An inverse relationship between thyroglobulin (Tg) and urinary iodine concentration (UIC) has been found in children potentially making Tg a viable blood marker of iodine status. The application of Tg in adults is unknown.
To determine the efficacy of Tg to assess iodine status in adults.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.
Dunedin, New Zealand.
Mildly iodine deficient (n=112) adults aged 18-40 years.
Participants were supplemented with 150 μ g of iodine as potassium iodate (KIO3) or placebo daily for 24 wk. At baseline and 24 wk, participants provided five casual urine samples for UIC determination; serum TSH and FT4 was also measured. Tg was determined at baseline and 8, 16 and 24 wk.
A change in Tg concentration between the iodine-supplemented and placebo groups at 24 wk.
At baseline, the overall median UIC was 65 μ g/L confirming that participants were mildly iodine deficient (i.e. median UIC between 50-99 μ g/L). The overall median Tg was 16.6 μ g/L; TSH and FT4 were within normal reference ranges. At 24 wk, the median UIC of the placebo and supplemented groups were significantly different, 79 and 168 μ g/L, respectively (P<0.001). Tg in the iodine-supplemented group decreased by 12, 20 and 27% compared to placebo group at 8 (P=0.045), 16 (P<0.001) and 24 wk (P<0.001); there were no significant changes in TSH and FT4.
Improved iodine status as assessed by UIC was associated with a concomitant decrease in Tg concentration, demonstrating that Tg is a useful biomarker of iodine status in a group of adults.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 18. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 18 December 2025.
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