An article to be published soon in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) finds that even mild iodine deficiency in pregnant women results in impairing their children's literacy testing outcomes at age 9.

"'Our research found children may continue to experience the effects of insufficient iodine for years after birth,' said the study's lead author, Kristen L. Hynes, PhD, of the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania in Australia. 'Although the participants' diet was fortified with iodine during childhood, later supplementation was not enough to reverse the impact of the deficiency during the mother's pregnancy.'

"The study found inadequate iodine exposure during pregnancy was associated with lasting effects. As 9-year-olds, the children who received insufficient iodine in the womb had lower scores on standardized literacy tests, particularly in spelling. However, inadequate iodine exposure was not associated with lower scores on math tests. Researchers theorize iodine deficiency may take more of a toll on the development of auditory pathways and, consequently, auditory working memory and so had more of an impact on students' spelling ability than their mathematical reasoning ability."

The story was carried worldwide by major wire services.