[An approach to a sanitary and social problem: urinary iodine excretion in pregnant women from a iodine deficient region].

The urinary iodine excretion (UIE) assay is an effective method to detect reduced iodine intake. UIE was measured in two different samples (morning and evening) from 121 pregnant women, with a turbid-metric method modified by Pino (normal value =150 ugl/1). Furthermore, thyroid function was evaluated in pregnant women with UIE <100 ug/l.