Abstract

Research Question: What is the situation of iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) and salt consumption in Amreli district? Hypothesis: The prevalence of IDD has increased markedly as a result of medical as well as socio-economic factors. Objective: To assess the magnitude of IDD in Amreli district and also assess the salt consumption patterns in the region. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Primary schools in rural areas. Study Tools: Clinical examination of study population for goiter, laboratory assessment of casual urine sample for urinary iodine estimation of Iodine content of salt samples collected from sub-samples of study population. Participants: Study was conducted among 2,940 School children in the age group of 6-12 years were selected for study using WHO 30-cluster methodology, urine samples were collected from 15% of selected children and salt samples from 43% of sub-sample. Ethical Concern: No ethical issues were involved. Results: An overall goitre prevalence of 25.2% was observed in the region. Females had a prevalence of 25.4% and males 25.1%. The median urinary iodine excretion in the region was 120.0 μg/l (range: 29.0-190.0 μg/l). Forty-eight percent of subjects reported biochemical iodine deficiency with 5.2% having severe deficiency, 6.7% moderate and in 26.4% mild iodine deficiency. In Amreli region, only 39.29% households consume powdered salt having an Iodine content of greater than 15 ppm. Conclusion: Present study shows moderate goitre prevalence in primary school children in Amreli district.

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