[Thyroid gland volume and urinary iodine excretion in children 2-16 years of age].

Thyroid volume on ultrasound and urinary iodine excretion in relation to creatinine excretion were determined in 252 children (130 boys, 122 girls; mean age 8.7 [2-16] years) from the central Ruhr area of Germany. The data were compared with those published for children of other regions of Germany and Sweden. Mean thyroid volume in the 2-year olds was 2.0 +/- 0.5 ml, in 4-year olds 2.9 +/- 1.1 ml, in 6-year olds 4.2 +/- 1.9 ml, in 9-year olds 5.2 +/- 1.3 ml and in 13-year olds 8.7 +/- 2.4 ml. Mean iodine excretion for the whole group was 101.0 +/- 41.5 micrograms iodine/g creatinine, in the 13-year olds it was 69 +/- 27 micrograms/g. These values are clearly below those of Swedish children on an adequate iodine intake. The thyroid volume measurements agree reasonably well with those published for children in the region of Germany and are clearly above those of the Swedish children. In 69% of cases the thyroid volume was more than 3 S.D. above the mean for Swedish children. The reported data support the demand for a higher iodine intake of the German population.