Iodine deficiency little iodine in the diet, typically remote inland areas and semi-arid equatorial climates where no marine foods are eaten, iodine deficiency gives rise to hypothyroidism, symptoms of which are extreme fatigue, goiter, mental slowing, depression, weight gain, and low basal body temperatures. Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation, a result which occurs primarily when babies or small children are rendered hypothyroidic by a lack of the element. The addition of iodine to table salt has largely eliminated this problem in the wealthier nations, but as of March 2006, iodine deficiency remained a serious public health problem
Pseudo-goitre Pseudo-goitre Pseudo-goitre is the apparent fullness of the front part of the neck. It may be mistakenly diagnosed as thyroid enlargement. The cause for pseudogoitre can be fat tissue of the neck, cervical lordosis, cervical masses (such as cervical lymphadenopathy, branchial cleft cyst, pharyngeal diverticulum) or high lying thyroid or trachea. Pseudogoitre due to cervical lordosis (swan shaped-neck) is called Modigliani syndrome after the artist Amedeo Modigliani, who was famous for painting women with exaggerated curved neck. Pseudogoitre can be distinguished from other disease conditions of the neck by physical examination. Normal thyroid moves up with swallowing, and any structure