Biochemical Hypothyroidism Secondary to Iodine Deficiency Is Associated with Poor School Achievement and Cognition in Bangladeshi Children

Iodine deficiency in pregnancy leads to poor cognitive function in the offspring; however, the effect of concurrent iodine deficiency on school-aged children is not clear. Several studies have shown that school children in iodine-deficient villages have poorer cognitive function than children in iodine-sufficient villages. However, villages differ in many factors that may also detrimentally affect children's development. In addition, the children's nutritional and health status has not usually been taken into account. In this study, we compared the cognitive function and school achievement levels of 170 children who had recently had low thyroxine (T4) levels [T4 /=70 nmol/L (euthyroid)]. The children were matched for school and grade level and came from the same iodine-deficient regions in rural Bangladesh. They were…