Work of the Polish Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, and the model of iodine prophylaxis in Poland

The Polish Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (PCCIDD) was established in 1991 in Krakow at the Chair and Dept. of Endocrinology, Jagiellonian University, Collegium Medicum, following the example of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) in Charlottesville, USA. The PCCIDD co-operates with the European Co-ordinating Centre in Pisa, Italy. The PCCIDD comprises a group of experts in endocrinology, iodine prophylaxis, the technology of salt and food iodisation, and Polish representatives of several organisations: WHO, UNICEF, the Polish Consumers Federation, and the Spokesman for Children's Rights. The strategic goal of the Polish Council is to solve the problem of iodine deficiency in Poland realising the Programme for Elimination of Iodine Deficiency financed by the Ministry of Health. The Polish model of iodine prophylaxis contains obligatory iodisation of household salt (20-40 mg KI/1 kg) and neonates' formula (10 mu g/100 mL of milk), and additional supplementation for pregnant and breastfeeding women with 150-200 mu g of iodine as pharmacotherapy. The model is very effective: endemic goitre in schoolchildren has been eradicated, the prevalence of goitre in pregnant women has fallen from 80% to 19%, the frequency of transient hypothyroidism in neonates has dropped from 2.0% to 0.16%, and the observed increase of incidence rate of thyroid cancer in women over 40 years old has diminished markedly. In 2008, a WHO Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Nutrition was designated at the Department of Endocrinology, UJCM in Krakow. The main goal of the WHOCC is to sustain effective iodine prophylaxis in Poland in the light of the latest WHO recommendations on the necessary reduction of daily salt intake as a risk factor for hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Therefore, additional standardised carriers of iodine (milk, mineral water) have been introduced into the food market. (Pot J Endocrinol 2012; 63 (2): 156-160)