Giving all pregnant women iodine supplements could save costs of cognitive impairment, study finds

Giving all women iodine supplements during pregnancy, even in countries such as the United Kingdom where iodine deficiency is only mild, could result in huge cost savings for health services by reducing preventable cognitive impairment in offspring, a modelling study has shown.

The study, published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology,1 used data from a systematic review together with expert opinion to model the cost effectiveness of iodine supplementation in pregnant women in the UK.

Iodine deficiency in pregnancy is associated with impaired …