Goitre and urinary iodine excretion survey in schoolchildren of Kashmir Valley. (12th June 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Masoodi, Shariq Rashid; Ali, Altaf; Wani, Arshad Iqbal; Bashir, Mir Iftikhar; Bhat, Javaid Ahmad; Mudassar, Syed; Zargar, Abdul Hamid
• Is Part Of: Clinical endocrinology. Volume 80:Number 1(2014:Jan.)
• Page Start: 141
• Page End: 147
• Publication Date: 2013-06-12
• Subjects: Endocrinology -- Periodicals; 616.4005
• DOI: 10.1111/cen.12247
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0300-0664

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="cen12247-abs-0001"> <title>Summary</title> <sec id="cen12247-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p>An extensive survey on schoolchildren in Kashmir Valley in 1995 showed a high prevalence of goitre, making it imperative to have a relook at our iodine status, 15 years postiodization.</p> </sec> <sec id="cen12247-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To study the total prevalence of goitre and urinary iodine excretion (UIE) in Kashmiri schoolchildren, 15 years postiodization.</p> </sec> <sec id="cen12247-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Design</title> <p>A cross‐sectional survey, covering 9576 schoolchildren, aged 5–15 years (5988 in 6–12 year age group) was conducted. Goitres were graded as per WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD. UIE was measured by the arsenic acid reduction in ceric ions method and was estimated in 208 subsampled children. Results were compared with that of 1995 survey.</p> </sec> <sec id="cen12247-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>The overall prevalence of goitre in the present study was 3·8% (95% CI: 3·4–4·2) and 3·7% (95% CI: 3·2–4·2) in those aged 6–12 years. No significant difference in prevalence of goitre was observed between boys and girls overall (3·6% <italic>vs</italic> 4·1%. <italic>P </italic>> 0·2), nor in the 6–12 year age group (3·3% <italic>vs</italic> 4·0%, <italic>P </italic>> 0·1). There was a significant trend of increasing prevalence of goitre with age (P < 0·005). UIE ranged from 12 to 397 μg/g.creatinine (median, 104); 11% subjects had UIE of <50 μg/g.creatinine. Overall, prevalence of goitre was significantly lower (3·8% <italic>vs</italic> 45·2%, <italic>P </italic>< 0·001), and mean UIE was significantly higher (123·6 ± 5·3 <italic>vs</italic> 49·60 ± 3·55 μg/g.creatinine, <italic>P </italic>< 0·001), compared to that in the 1995 survey.</p> </sec> <sec id="cen12247-sec-0005" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>The marked improvement in overall iodine nutrition in Kashmir Valley‐ one and a half decades after implementation of salt iodization should encourage healthcare providers to make tangible efforts for implementation of iodization programmes in areas with iodine deficiency.</p> </sec> </abstract>