The EUthyroid consortium successfully established a joint European database combining national and regional registry based outcome data related to iodine status from 18 European countries. The database also collated data from 56 IDD monitoring studies spanning 27 European countries. Measurements for 39 IDD monitoring studies from 23 European countries were harmonised, generating the first harmonised European map of iodine status. This was supplemented by additional European prevalence maps of thyroid related biomarkers and thyroid dysfunction.
The EUthyroid infrastructure to support the harmonisation of studies, accessible through the project´s website, includes recommendations for questionnaires on the socio-economic status of adults and children; an instructional video and guide on thyroid ultrasound examination, a web-based training and certification tool (ARCUS) for ultrasound observers, and a guide for researchers conducting population studies.
EUthyroid developed a dried blood spot (DBS) Tg ELISA assay to analyse DBS cards of pregnant women and women of reproductive age collected from various IDD monitoring studies across European and non-European countries, to establish and further cross-validate Tg reference ranges for these vulnerable groups for future ID monitoring.
Data from three major European birth cohort studies in the Netherlands, UK and Spain were harmonised and integrated into one large dataset, enabling us to study the effects of low maternal iodine on child neurodevelopment. A proof-of-principle study was performed on the effects of thyroid function on child IQ and the risk of behavioural disorders in over 9,500 mothers and their children. Results showed that both low and high maternal thyroid hormone levels during early pregnancy are associated with a lower child IQ and a higher risk of autism.
In order to provide evidence for the long-term benefit-harm balance and cost-effectiveness of IDD prevention and monitoring programmes in Europe a decision-analytic Markov state-transition cohort model was developed and expert input and systematic literature searches undertaken to parameterise the model.
Policy makers, stakeholders and the general public have been targeted through a range of media including a project website, conference presentations, scientific publications, national press, television and social media as part of a coordinated dissemination strategy.
With the Krakow Declaration on Iodine, EUthyroid presented recommendations towards preventing IDD and securing sufficient iodine status in Europe as a call to action for policy makers, public health officials, scientists and the general public. High-level meetings were held with policy makers in 20 countries, with several already yielding policy change.
