Iodine deficiency in pregnancy: Still a health issue for the women of Cassino city, Italy.

Objective: The World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders recommend a median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in pregnant women between 150 µg/L and 249 µg/L. In the present study, we evaluated whether in the urban area of Cassino (central Italy), after a national salt iodination program (30 mg/kg) was introduced in 2005, the increased demand of iodine during pregnancy was satisfied.

Methods: Between January 2016 and April 2017, 99 pregnant women were enrolled to evaluate UIC in spot urine samples, serum level of thyrotropin, free thyroxine, antithyroglobulin and antithyroperoxidase autoantibodies, and thyroid volume by ultrasonography.

[Health risks associated with night shifts: trasversal study in a sample of nurses at the Cassino hospital].

For nurses, night work can have a negative influence not only on the quality of care and the incidence of accidents and errors but also affect their private life and health. In shift workers sleep pattern disturbances are particularly frequent. Females are more at risk than males due to their different health conditions and socio-family pressure.