I had an opportunity to get first-hand advice from one of the nation's leading endocrinologists, Theodore Friedman, MD, PhD. Dr. Friedman is Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine, and Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, Endowed Professor of Cardio-Metabolic Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at The Charles Drew University of Medicine & Sciences in Los Angeles, and a Professor of Medicine at UCLA. He is also a board-certified endocrinologist in private practice in the Los Angeles, California area.
Potassium Iodide In the News
Mary Shomon: Why is there so much interest in potassium iodide right now?Dr. Friedman:: I'd like to say first that we are all saddened by the catastrophe happening in Japan following the recent earthquake, and our prayers are with the Japanese population. We are especially concerned about the dangers to citizens of Japan posed by the leak of the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It is because of the damage to the plant that many patients in the U.S. have been asking me should they take potassium iodide to prevent the possible effects of radioactive iodine on the thyroid gland.
It is known that radioactive iodine exposure does lead to thyroid cancer. We know that people who were near the Chernobyl nuclear reactor plant in the Ukraine in 1986 did develop an increased rate of thyroid cancer. However, the situation in Japan is quite different, for two reasons. First, the leak is reportedly nowhere near the magnitude of that at Chernobyl, and second, the distance between Japan and the United States is vast. The people who were most affected by Chernobyl were located within 1,000 miles of Chernobyl, and they were all downwind from the Chernobyl site. The west coast of the United States is more than 5,000 miles away from Japan.
This combination of distance, plus the fact that the radioactive materials are apparently significantly less than the Chernobyl release, will, according to experts, mean that any radioactive materials that leak from the Japanese plants will dissipate over the Pacific Ocean.
The Dangers of Taking Potassium Iodide
Mary Shomon: Americans are reportedly buying and taking all forms of potassium iodide, and even other forms of iodine like kelp, as a response to concerns about the Japanese reactor leaks. Do you feel that all Americans should start taking potassium iodide? Are there any concerns or dangers for those outside the fallout region who are taking potassium iodide?Dr. Friedman: In terms of taking potassium iodide (iodide becomes iodine with oxidation), the iodine can worsen both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. The exacerbation of hyperthyroidism with exogenous iodide has caused a condition known as Jod-Basedow phenomena. This effect is due to the fact that in hyperthyroidism, the gland is hungry for iodine and when you give iodide, you make a mildly hyperthyroid gland much more hyperthyroid as it gets iodine to make much more thyroid hormones. For this reason, iodide can exacerbate mild or potential hyperthyroidism.
Iodide also has a detrimental effect in people who could be prone to hypothyroidism. This is called the Wolff-Chaikoff effect. Exogenous iodine can block the synthesis of iodine in patients who are already hypothyroid, and can bring out latent hypothyroidism.
Because of the potential detrimental effects that taking iodine can have on the thyroid gland -- as well as the infinitesimally low chance that the radioactive fallout from Japan will affect Americans--I strongly recommend against taking iodine supplementation at this time, in response to the Japanese situation. I believe that the risks of potassium iodide outweigh the benefits.
