Iodine deficiency disorders among school children of Malda, West Bengal, India
Biswas, A.Bandhu.; Chakraborty, I.; Das, D.Kumar.; Biswas, S.; Nandy, S.; Mitra, J.
Journal of Health Population and Nutrition 20(2): 180-183
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 1606-0997 PMID: 12186199 Document Number: 233632
A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 2392 school children, aged 8-10 years, in Malda district of West Bengal, India, in January 2001 to assess their iodine status. The children were selected through a multistage 30 cluster-sampling technique to determine the status of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) using recommended quantifiable indicators. The prevalence of goitre was assessed clinically using the standard palpation method by the teachers of Community Medicine, and a total goitre rate of 11.3% was found with no significant gender difference (P>0.05). Urinary iodine excretion (UIE) levels of 341 study subjects, selected through systematic random sampling, were analysed by the wet digestion method to determine biochemical iodine deficiency by the teachers of the Biochemistry Department. The median UIE was 15 micro g/dl, and no child had UIE value less than 5 micro g/dl. Iodine content of 1060 salt samples tested with a spot-testing kit revealed 85.1% with adequate iodine content of >=15 ppm. The finding of an 11.3% total goitre rate without evidence of current iodine deficiency (median UIE 15 micro g/dl) indicates that the Malda district is in the transition phase from iodine-deficient to iodine-sufficient.