Iodine Nutrition in Taiwan

EL-2 Fan-Fen Wang, M.D.

Personal Information

Nationality: Taiwan

Position: Attending Physician

Department: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine

Organization: Yang-Ming Branch, Taipei City Hospital

Email: doc1298d@yahoo.com.tw

Educational background & professional experience (in sequence of the latest year)

1989-1996 Medicine / Taipei Medical College M.B.(M.D.) 2004-2010 Institute of Clinical Medicine / National YangMing University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. M.S. 2003- Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Yang-Ming Branch, Taipei, City Hospital Attending Physician

Research Interests

1.Iodine nutrition 2.Cushing’s syndrome 3.Polycystic ovary syndrome

Publications (5 important publications – latest sequence)

1.Tang KT, Wang FF, Pan WH, Lin JD, Won GS, Chau WK, Lin HD, Hsieh YT. Iodine status of adults in Taiwan 2005–2008, 5 years after the cessation of mandatory salt iodization. J Formos Med Assoc

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2015.06.014 2.Tang KT, Wang FF, Fu SS, Braverman LE, Lin JD, Won GS. A Simple Microplate Method with Improved Low Iodine Concentration Sensitivity in Urinary Iodine Measurement. Thyroid, 2015;25(10):1173-1174. 3.Wang FF, Tang KT, Yen YS, Ho DMT, Yang AH, Huang CI, Lin HD, Won JGS. Plasma corticotrophin response to desmopressin in patients with Cushing’s disease correlates with the expression of vasopressin receptor 2, but not with that of vasopressin receptor 1 or 3, in their pituitary tumours. Clin Endocrinol, 2012; 76:253-263. 4.Wang FF, Chang YH, Pan CC, Tu DG, and Won JGS. Unusual Visualization of an Adrenal

Carcinoma on NP-59 Scintiscan. J Formos Med Assoc 2006; 105(4):340-345. 5.Wang FF, Su CC, Chang YH, Pan CC, Tang KT, Jap TS, Lin HD, Won JGS. Primary adrenal lymphoma manifestating as adrenal incidentaloma. J Chin Med Assoc. 2003 Jan;66(1):67-71.

EL-2 Assessment and Interpretation of Iodine Nutrition of Populations: Experiences from the Recent Taiwan Surveys

群體碘營養之評估與解讀 : 近期台灣研究之經驗

FAN-FEN WANG 王繁棻

Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Yang-Ming Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC 臺北市立聯合醫院陽明院區 新陳代謝科

Iodine is a micronutrient essential for synthesis of thyroid hormones. Eliminating iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) has been an integral component of public health strategies of many countries since 1990. In 1993, WHO and UNICEF officially recommended universal salt iodization as the main strategy to achieve the elimination of iodine deficiency. Both the proportion of households using iodized salt and the population iodine status are indicators of the sustainable elimination of IDD.

Four methods are generally recommended for assessing adequacy of iodine nutrition in populations: urinary iodine concentration (UIC), the goiter rate, serum TSH, and serum thyroglobulin. UIC is the most practical biomarker for recent iodine nutrition, and criteria have been established for classifying degrees of iodine nutrition. The median rather than the mean is used to measure central tendencies. Presenting the distribution of UIC in a population helps determine if there is a large proportion with either very low or very high values. It is important not to misinterpret the different percentages to define the number of individuals who are deficient.

Mandatory salt iodization program in Taiwan was first launched in 1976, but ceased in 2003. The state of iodine nutrition in Taiwan is changing, related to the flooding of noniodized salt to the market, and the dietary variations including the increased consumption of processed food and the decreased levels of salt intake. Monitoring programs reaching vulnerable groups (pregnant women and newborns), surveys including both UIC and household coverage with iodized salt, combined with proper interpretation of the data, allow accurate definition of population’s iodine nutrition status, which is necessary to achieve a state of iodine adequacy. This presentation will describe the iodine nutrition data from the recent Taiwan surveys, and the application of the interpretation methods suggested by the WHO using these data as examples.