AGE AND GENDER PECULIARITIES OF COGNI-TIVE FUNCTIONS IN SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WITH MILD IODINE DEFICIENCY AND LATENT IRON DEFICIENCY

The relevance of the study is due to the prevalence of iodine and iron deficiency in Ukraine. Lack of iron in early childhood leads to a delay in language skills, a decrease of intelligence quotient (IQ), and learning ability. In adolescence, iron deficiency is accompanied by memory impairment and CNS adaptive capacities. Insufficient iodine content in the diet leads to the disorders of thyroid homeostasis, especially in childhood, which leads to the retention in the mental and physical development of children. More than 2/3 of children living in regions with environmental iodine deficiency, have intellectual disabilities (IQ is 10-15 points lower than peers without iodine deficiency). Taking into account the prevalence of iodine and iron deficiency in Ukraine, it is advisable to study their combined effect on the cognitive functions of school-aged children. The aim of the research is to study the effect of mild iodine deficiency and latent iron deficiency on the cognitive function of school-aged children. The article represents the results of a study of the psychophysiological development of 133 schoolchil-dren aged 6-18 years with appropriate iodine and iron support (control group), latent iron deficiency, mild iodine deficiency and in the conditions of their combination. Analyzing the studied indices in each group, the attention was paid to the age (6-11 and 12-18) and gender peculiarities. Thyroid homeostasis was evaluated accord-ing to hormonal status, iodine concentration in urine and thyroid ultrasound examination. Thyroid hormone con-tent was determined in the blood serum: free triiodothy-ronine (fT3) and thyroxine (fT4), TSH of the adenohy-pophysis; in urine – indices of daily iodine excretion. The hemoglobin content in the capillary blood, serum iron level, total iron binding capacity of blood serum, and transferrin iron saturation coefficient were calculated to evaluate iron depot transport in the examined patients. The condition of iron depot was characterized by the serum ferritin level. To evaluate the cognitive functions in schoolchildren there were determined the intelligence quotient, a corrective test was performed (the speed of processing information, the coefficients of accuracy of performed work and stability of attention were deter-mined), the indices of the rate of sensory reactions and peculiarities of attention (psychological stability, work efficiency, degree of work worming-up) were studied according to the modified tables of Schulte. It is determined that deficiency of trace elements (iron and iodine) causes impaired cognitive functions, especially when their influence is combined. In children with mild iodine deficiency and latent iron deficiency there was determined a significant decrease of IQ in boys at 19% and in girls at 15% in primary school age, and in adolescents at 13% older school age as for similar control values. In this group of the studied there was found: a 37% decrease of work efficiency in boys, and at 48% in younger girls, and at 35% in older aged boys; a 32% decrease of the degree of work warming-up in girls; information processing speed at 46% in girls, at 29% stability of attention in boys and at 42% in girls aged 6-11 years as for similar control values. In the combined microelementosis the number of children with unstable exhaustion curve increases. The degree of impairment depends on the age (more sensitive younger children), gender (more sensitive girls) and genesis of microelementosis (more severe abnormalities were found in combined microelementosis).