Australian Centre for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders

Iodine Deficiency Disorders and children

How can Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) affect school children?

•	Children with IDD are not as intelligent or as quick to learn as healthy children.
•	Children with IDD score around 10 - 15% lower on IQ tests compared with healthy children.
•	Children with IDD are less likely to attend school, due to physical and mental difficulties, and therefore cannot get a good education.

IDD and Australia

Are we getting enough iodine in our diets? Over the past few decades, most of the iodine we have consumed has mainly come from milk and other dairy products. However, the dairy industry is changing its work practices, and the amount of iodine in milk is now declining.

Other important dietary sources of iodine are seafood and iodised salt - not everyone has access to, or can afford seafood on a regular basis, and less than 10% of Australian households buy iodised salt. Salt used in the manufacture or preparation of food is rarely iodised.


	Introduction The ThyroMobil Iodine Deficiency Disorders The Journey NINS Supporters


	A brochure on the National Iodine Nutrition Study (NINS) is available from ACCIDD. Click below to download a PDF version.