Yoduria en escolares y embarazadas del estado Trujillo, Venezuela 2007-2008

the main role of iodine is the synthesis of thyroid hormone. thyroid hormones are related to brain development and metabolic regulation. urinary iodine excretion is a useful and important indicator of the iodine status of a population. the world health organization (who) recommends that the median urinary iodine concentration in a population of pregnant women should range between 150 and 249 μg/l and in a population of school children it should range between 100 and 200 μg/l. objective: to determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency in school children and pregnant women of trujillo state, in the andean region of venezuela. material and methods: cross-sectional survey of 400 school children aged 7-14 years and 300 pregnant women. random urine samples were collected and analyzed for urinary iodine by sandell-kolthoff reaction. the criteria suggested by who to indicate iodine deficiency were applied. results: median urinary iodine for school children was 175 μg/l; and 6,25 % of children had urinary iodine concentrations below 50 μg/l. median urinary iodine for pregnant women was 228 μg/l; and 25 % of pregnant women had urinary iodine concentrations below 150 μg/l. conclusions: on the basis of the who criteria, the iodine intake in school children and pregnant women in trujillo state, venezuela, is adequate.