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Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on October 23, 2008
Journal of Public Health 2009 31(1):32-38; doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdn097
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© The Author 2008, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health. All rights reserved

Effects of drinking water with high iodine concentration on the intelligence of children in Tianjin, China



Hong-Liang Liu, Director of Environmental Health1

Lawrence T. Lam, Senior Lecturer2

Qiang Zeng, Research Scientist1

Shu-qing Han, Research Scientist1

Gang Fu, Research Scientist1

Chang-chun Hou, Research Scientist1
1 Tianjin Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 76 Hualong Road, HeDong District, Tiahjin 300011, People's Republic of China
2 Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Australia

Address correspondence to Lawrence T. Lam, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. E-mail: Lawrence.lam{at}usyd.edu.au or Hong-Liang Liu, Email: hongliang.liu{at}sina.com


  Abstract

Objective This study aimed to investigate the effects of drinking water with high concentrations of iodine on the intelligence of children in Tianjin, China.

Methods It was a population-based health survey utilizing a random cluster sampling design conducted in June 2005. Participants were recruited from the total population of primary school children attending years 1–4 with ages ranging from 8 to 10 years. Intelligence quotient (IQ) was assessed using the combined Raven's test, second edition. Linear regression analyses were applied to test for any association between water iodine concentration and IQ.

Results A total of 1229 students were recruited with a mean IQ of 105.8 (95% CI: 104.2–107.3). Water analyses indicated iodine concentrations were high in one rural region and exceedingly high in another with median values of 137.5 and 234.7 µg/l, respectively. There was a significant association between residing in the very high water iodine region and a reduction of IQ by an average of about nine points (P = 0.022), after adjusting for the potential confounding factors.

Conclusion Exposure to high iodine concentrations in drinking water has detrimental effects on the intelligence of children.

Keywords: epidemiology, health protection, public health


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