Epidemiological studies of iodine deficiency in adolescents in Novosibirsk: data from a 15-year observation

BACKGROUND: Currently, in Russia, which is a region with mild iodine deficiency (median urinary iodine concentration (mUIC) is <100 μg/l), there is no federal law on universal salt iodization and the voluntary nature of mass iodine prophylaxis has been established.

AIM: to assess the iodine status and the effectiveness of iodine deficiency prevention in adolescents aged 13–18 in Novosibirsk.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study included a representative sample of schoolchildren aged 13–18 years (637 people of both sexes, of whom 189 people filled out a questionnaire on the use of iodized salt, 154 of them had urine samples taken to determine the IOM). It was conducted among adolescents aged 13-18 years in Novosibirsk. Questionnaire, determination of IOM, comparison of the obtained data with the results of clinical and population studies conducted in Novosibirsk in 2009-2010, 2019.

RESULTS: According to the survey conducted in 2025, 7.4% of schoolchildren aged 13–18 years definitely know that they consume iodized salt. The MIC was 166 μg/l, the proportion of urine samples with MIC less than 50 μg/l was 5.2%. In 2010, 47% of the surveyed adolescents consumed iodized salt, the MIC was 93 μg/l, and MIC less than 50 μg/l was determined in 7% of samples. In 2019, 8% confirmed their consumption of iodized salt, the MIC was 123 μg/l, and MIC less than 50 μg/l was 14.5%.

CONCLUSIONS: Over a 15-year observation period, a significant improvement in iodine status of the adolescent population has been noted in Novosibirsk. Low awareness of iodine deficiency and measures to prevent it among the younger generation of Novosibirsk residents has been recorded.

1. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Iodine Global Network (IGN). Guidance on the monitoring of salt iodization programmes and determination of population iodine status: Russian language version. Clinical and experimental thyroidology. 2018;14(2):100–112. (In Russ.). doi: https://doi.org/10.14341/ket9734

2. Sukhanov AV, Rymar OD, Mustafina SV, Denisova DV. Adolescent’s cognitive functions condition in region with mild iodine deficiency. Mir nauki, kul’tury, obrazovania. 2013;(1):267–271. (In Russ).

3. Alferova VI, Mustafina SV, Rymar OD. Iodine status of the population in Russia and the world: what do we have for 2019? Clinical and experimental thyroidology. 2019;15(2):73–82. (In Russ). doi: https://doi.org/10.14341/ket10353

4. Nikitin YuP, Rymar OD, Mustafina SV, et al. Providing of adult population of Novosibirsk with iodine. Problems of nutrition. 2008;77(2):64–66. (In Russ).

5. https://arctic-russia.ru/project/unikalnyy-russkiy-yod-rezident-azrf-zapuskaet-opytnoe-proizvodstvo-na-severodvinskom-mestorozhdenii/ - ссылка доступна на 29.06.2025

6. Rymar OD, Mustafina SV, Simonova GI, et al. Epidemiological evaluation of iodine deficiency and thyroid disorders in the megalopolis of Western Siberia in 1995–2010. Clinical and experimental thyroidology. 2012;8(2):50–54. (In Russ). doi: https://doi.org/10.14341/ket20128250-54

7. Zimmermann MB. Symposium on geographical and geological influences on nutrition’: iodine deficiency in industrialised countries. Proc Nutr Soc. 2010;69(1):133–143. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665109991819

8. Nalyotov AV, Matsynin AN, Svistunova NA, Mahmutov RF. Iodine deficiency in childhood: the current state of the issue. Children’s medicine of the North-West (St. Petersburg). 2023;11(1):42-48. doi: https://doi.org/10.56871/CmN-W.2023.96.42.004

9. Rymar OD, Mustafina SV, Alferova VI, Denisova DV. Epidemiological studies of iodine deficiency in Novosibirsk: data of 25-years observation. Clinical and experimental thyroidology. 2020;16(2):4-11. (In Russ.). doi: https://doi.org/10.14341/ket12539

10. Kurmacheva NA, Chernenkov YuV, Andreeva AN, et al. Analysing iodine intake of Saratov children preschool and school meals. Meditsinskiy Sovet. 2024;18(13):225–232. doi: https://doi.org/10.21518/ms2024-265

11. Suplotova LA, Gerasimov GA, Troshina EA, Makarova OB, Denisov PM, Zaidulina AS, Sharukho GV. Assessing of iodine consumption with iodized salt in organized nutrition of children of preschool and school age in the Tyumen region. Voprosy Pitaniia. 2023;92(4):29–37. (In Russ.). doi: https://doi.org/10.33029/0042-8833-2023-92-4-29-37.

12. Troshina EA, Senyushkina ES, Makolina NP, et al. Iodine Deficiency Disorders: Current State of the Problem in the Republic of Crimea. Clinical and experimental thyroidology. 2020;16(4):19-27. (In Russ.). doi: https://doi.org/10.14341/ket12700

13. Йодная обеспеченность населения Республики Башкортостан / Ф.Х. Камилов, Т.И. Ганеев, В.Н. Козлов [и др.] // Современные проблемы науки и образования. — 2022. — № 4. — С. 93. doi: https://doi.org/10.17513/spno.31885

14. Налетов А.В. Оценка йодной обеспеченности детей-вегетарианцев / А.В. Налетов, Н.А. Свистунова, Д.И. Масюта // Вопросы диетологии. — 2023. — Т. 13. — № 1. — С. 17-20. doi: https://doi.org/10.20953/2224-5448-2023-1-17-20

15. Troshina EA. Elimination of iodine deficiency is a concern for the health of the nation. An excursion into the history, scientific aspects and the current state of the legal regulation of the problem in Russia. Problems of Endocrinology. 2022;68(4):4-12. (In Russ.). doi: https://doi.org/10.14341/probl13154