Determine the Effect of Iodine Deficiency?
Iodine deficiency affects all populations at all stages of life, from the intrauterine stage to old age. However, pregnant women, lactating women, women of reproductive age, and children younger than 3 years of age are considered the most important groups in which to diagnose and treat iodine deficiency, because iodine deficiency occurring during foetal and neonatal growth and development leads to irreversible damage of the brain and central nervous system and, consequently, to irreversible mental retardation. Thus, its deficiency causes a wide spectrum of disorders.