Objectives
To determine the relationship between blood pressure, body iron stores and urinary iodine concentrations in free living women of Eastern Kenya.
Methods
Using multistage sampling, 174 women (15-49years) consented to participate. Two Blood Pressure (BP) measurements were taken by a calibrated Digital BP machine on the right arm, 5 minutes before and after rest between measurements. Body iron stores were estimated by serum ferritin after correcting for inflammation while Urinary Iodine Concentration (UIC) was measured by alkaline ashing and spectrophotometry of the SandellKolthoff reaction.
Results
Mean age and BMI were 35.4±7.5yrs and 24.2±4.5kg/m2 respectively. SystolicBP (124.8±13.8) and diastolicBP (77.3±9.3), were within normal WHO classification range. Median UIC (521.9ug/L:IQR[259.96-827.30] was exceptionally high (UIC >500ug/L) posing elevated risk of thyroid dysfunction, while median ferritin levels were 45.2ug/L:IQR[17.04-62.24] showing a population with adequate iron stores. Low iodine status and iron deficiency were present in 7.2% and 19.3% of the women respectively. HBP was observed in >50% women with excess iodine intakes and iron stores. In multi-variate analyses, BP was significantly (p<0.05) associated with serum ferritin but not UIC
Conclusions
BP is related to body iron stores but, despite potential risk of thyroid hormone perturbation from excessive iodine intakes, BP does not seem related to iodine intake in healthy women of this study
