Establishing the Iodine Requirement in Infancy

November 7, 2017 updated by: Maria Andersson, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Establishing the Iodine Requirement in Infancy: a Double-blind Dose-response, Cross-over Balance Study

The objective of this study is to define the amount of dietary iodine needed per day during the first six months of life. The hypothesis is that the current recommended iodine intake in infants is set too high.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Iodine is an essential trace element for human health and an integral component of the thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones regulate normal growth and development, particularly of the brain. Iodine deficiency results in low levels of thyroid hormones that can impair brain development and lower intelligence. Infants have only small iodine stores at birth and are entirely dependent on iodine provided by breast milk or infant formula. However, the exact amount of daily iodine that infants need for healthy development is poorly understood and there is insufficient data to define an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for this age group.

The current recommendation for dietary iodine intake for 0-6 month (mo) old infants of 110 µg/day is only an adequate intake (AI), in the absence of an EAR. This AI is based on the iodine intake in breast fed infants from breast milk iodine concentration (BMIC) measured in U.S. women during a period when overall iodine intakes in the U.S. population were excessive. The AI sharply disagrees with the current WHO recommendation for assessment of infant iodine nutrition based on excretion of iodine in the urine. The discrepancy makes assessment and monitoring of iodine status at this age problematic and has led to major confusion on how to interpret adequate iodine intake and optimal iodine status.

The objective of this study is to measure the daily iodine retention from dietary iodine and define the physiological iodine requirement (the EAR) during the first six months of life. The study hypothesis is that the AI is set too high and its use in assessing iodine intake and status overestimates the prevalence of iodine deficiency in infants.

The study will be a metabolic balance study of breast milk consumption and three dose-response cross-over arms of iodine enriched infant formula milk in 60 healthy 2-3 mo old infants (30 breast fed and 30 formula fed). Breast fed infants will be exclusively and unrestrictedly breast fed by the mother and the breast milk consumption will be monitored for 4 days by weighing the infants before and after each feeding session. Formula fed infants will be randomly allocated to three 11 days cross-over periods of exclusive consumption of infant formula milks (IFM) providing 60 µg I/day, 110 µg I/day and 220 µg I/day. The iodine intake will be monitored by recording the amount of infant formula milk fed to the infants. The iodine excretion will be measured from complete collections of urine and feces for a 4-day period for each arm. The iodine retention will be calculated from the difference between measured iodine intake and excretion. Analytical determination of the iodine content in biological samples will be done by mass spectrometry after digestion and iodine extraction. The sample size is based on an estimated dose-response of the different levels of dietary iodine on iodine excretion.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
34

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • South Africa
      • Potchefstroom, South Africa, 2520
        • North-West University South Africa
  • Switzerland
      • Zurich, Switzerland, 8092
        • ETH Zurich

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years to 3 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy mother/infant pairs (considering the following criteria: normal thyroid function, adequate iron status, no apparent infection)
  • Full term birth (in week 38 to 42), birth weight >2 500 g, singleton birth
  • No known family history of thyroid disease
  • Infant does not have persistent stomach and/or intestine symptoms
  • Mother did not use: a) X-ray or CT contrast agent (both may contain iodine); b) iodine containing medication within the last year
  • Formula fed infants study arm: Infant is fully formula fed and was already formula fed prior to the study
  • Formula fed infants study arm: Infant was fed with formula based on cow's milk protein prior to the study
  • Formula fed infants study arm: Infant shows no signs of cow's milk allergy
  • Breast fed infants study arm: Infant is fully breast fed and was fully breast fed prior to the study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Infant formula milk 60 µg iodine/day
Infant formula containing 57 µg/100 g powder, providing approximately 60 µg iodine/day (i.e. 55% of the current AI). Unrestricted consumption during 11 days.
Dietary supplement: Infant formula
To establish dose-response relationships, formula-fed infants will be randomly allocated to three 11-day cross-over periods of exclusive consumption of infant formula providing different amounts of iodine. All iodine levels are within the required iodine levels for infant formula following the regulations of the United States, the European Union, Switzerland and New Zealand.
Experimental: Infant formula milk 110 µg iodine/day
Infant formula containing 92 µg/100 g powder, providing approximately 110 µg iodine/day (i.e. 100% of the current AI). Unrestricted consumption during 11 days.
Dietary supplement: Infant formula
To establish dose-response relationships, formula-fed infants will be randomly allocated to three 11-day cross-over periods of exclusive consumption of infant formula providing different amounts of iodine. All iodine levels are within the required iodine levels for infant formula following the regulations of the United States, the European Union, Switzerland and New Zealand.
Experimental: Infant formula 220 µg iodine/day
Infant formula containing 217 µg/100 g powder, providing approximately 220 µg iodine/day (i.e. 200% of the current AI). Unrestricted consumption during 11 days.
Dietary supplement: Infant formula
To establish dose-response relationships, formula-fed infants will be randomly allocated to three 11-day cross-over periods of exclusive consumption of infant formula providing different amounts of iodine. All iodine levels are within the required iodine levels for infant formula following the regulations of the United States, the European Union, Switzerland and New Zealand.
Other: Breast milk
Unrestricted consumption during 4 days
Other: Breast milk
Unlimited breast feeding

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Iodine retention
Time Frame: 4 days
The amount of iodine retained will be calculated as the difference between measured iodine intake and measured iodine excretion
4 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
North-West University, South Africa

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Maria Andersson, PhD, ETH Zurich

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 22, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 22, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 27, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 8, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 7, 2017

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • EK 2013-N-21

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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