National Journal of Community Medicine (Dec 2011)
A Prevalence Study of Iodine Deficiency Disorder in Children of Primary Schools in Gandhinagar District
Abstract
Objective: To assess the magnitude of IDD in Gandhinagar region and also assess the salt consumption patterns in the region. Study Design: It is a Cross-sectional study conducted in primary schools of both urban and rural areas. Clinical examination of study population for goiter, laboratory assessment of casual urine sample for urinary iodine and estimation of Iodine in salt samples were done. School children in the age group of 6-12 years were selected for study using WHO 30-cluster methodology. During the school survey, 10 salt samples were collected from the students (preferably from all age group) and tested on the spot with UNICEF kit. Iodine concentration recorded as 0, 15. Fourteen Samples of Urine were obtained from students for Iodine estimation from each school. Results: An overall goiter prevalence of 7.75% was observed in the district. Females had a prevalence of 7.68% and males 7.82%. 78.57 percent of subjects had urinary iodine excretion >100mcg/l with 21.43% having moderate -mild iodine deficiency. In Gandhinagar region, 93.2% of households consume powdered salt with 90.5% powdered salt samples having an iodine content of greater than 15 ppm. Conclusion: Iodine deficiency remains a public health problem in kalol and dehgam taluka and proper administrative action to enhance universal iodinization is recommended.
