The Relation between Goiter and BMI among Children in Isfahan and Semirom

Abstract

Background: Endemic goiter is generally seen in mountainous and iodine-deficient regions of the countries where the people's diet lacks sufficient amount of iodine. Moreover, thyroid hormones are important for normal somatic growth and development. On the other hand, changes in thyroid function during childhood are affected by various factors, like gender, age, adiposity, nutrition, iodine intake and geographic region. Although it is known that severe thyroid dysfunction affects weight, the effects of minor disturbances of a normal thyroid function on body weight, obesity and body mass index (BMI) remain vague. In this study, our goal was to assess BMI in a group of children and investigate its relation with thyroid function and goiter. Methods: A total number of 4345 children (2397 from Isfahan and 1948 from Semirom), aged 6-13 years (with a mean of 9.38 ± 1.10 years) were recruited in this study. The children with any acute or chronic disorder or any history of diagnosed thyroid disease and clinical signs or symptoms of thyroid disease were excluded. Findings: The mean of BMI in children from Isfahan was significantly higher than the children from Semiron in both goitrous (P < 0.01) and healthy (P < 0.01) groups. Although healthy children of Isfahan had higher BMIs than the patients (P < 0.01), in Semirom the relation was reversed (P = 0.045). Conclusion: Goiter may have some relations with anthropometric features such as weight and BMI, especially among children. However, socioeconomic factors seemed to have more important roles because BMI was higher in both goitrous and healthy children from Isfahan.

Keywords

• Endemic goiter
• Body mass index
• Children