Iodine in biology
The U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) updated Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for iodine in 2000. For people age 14 and up, the iodine RDA is 150 μg/day; the RDA for pregnant women is 220 μg/day and the RDA during lactation is 290 μg/day. For children 1–8 years, the RDA is 90 μg/day; for children 8–13 years, 130 μg/day. As a safety consideration, the IOM sets tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) for vitamins and minerals when evidence is sufficient. The UL for iodine for adults is 1,100 μg/day. This UL was assessed by analyzing the effect of supplementation on thyroid-stimulating hormone. Collectively, the EARs, RDAs, AIs and ULs are referred to as Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs).
Niacin
The U.S. Institute of Medicine (renamed National Academy of Medicine in 2015) updated Estimated Average Requirements (EARs) and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for niacin in 1998. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) refers to the collective set of information as Dietary Reference Values (DRV), with Population Reference Intake (PRI) instead of RDA, and Average Requirement instead of EAR. AI and UL defined the same as in United States. For women (including those pregnant or lactating), men and children the PRI is 1.6 mg niacin per megajoule (MJ) of energy consumed. As the conversion is 1 MJ = 238.8 kcal, an adult consuming 2388 calories should be consuming 16 mg niacin. This is comparable to U.S. RDAs. The niacin UL is set at 10 mg/day, which is much less than the U.S. value. The UL applies to niacin as a supplement consumed as one dose, and in intended to avoid the skin flush reaction. This explains why the PRI can be higher than the UL.