Edited by
Victor Preedy, King's College London, UK
Gerard Burrow, MD, David Paige Smith Professor of Medicine, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Ronald Watson, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA
Description
Over two billion people worldwide are at risk for the spectrum of disorders known as "The Iodine Deficiency Disorders." 1-10% will suffer
cretinism; 5-30% will have some sort of brain damage or neurological impairment and 30-70% will be hypothyroid.
The causes of iodine
deficiencies can be considered from both simplistic and more complex perspectives: From the leaching of iodine from soil resulting in
crops with low iodine content to malnutrition resulting in impaired iodine absorption. Poor dietary diversification and impoverished
socio-economic development can also lead to iodine deficiencies.
Although it is possible to diagnose and treat deficiencies, there
is still an ongoing dialogue regarding the detailed molecular pathology of iodine homeostatis, how hypothyroidism impacts the body tissues,
and efficient diagnosis and treatment of the Iodine Deficiency Disorders.
This Handbook provides a resource of information on the
various pathways and processes based on different countries or diseases. Because there is a constant flow of new information on iodine
and related disorders, the goal of this Handbook is to provide a base of scientific information upon which additional knowledge can be
applied.
Audience:
Nutritionists and Dietitians, Public Health Scientists and Workers, Epidemiologists, Food scientists, Pharmacologists
