Prevalence of Goiter and Urinary Iodine Status in Six-Twelve-Year-Old Rural Primary School Children of Bharuch District, Gujarat, India

Background: iodine deficiency disorder (idd) creates majorpublic health problems in india, including gujarat. the bharuchdistrict is a known iodine deficiency endemic area. this study wasconducted to estimate the prevalence of goiter in primary schoolchildren; to determine the median urinary iodine concentration;to assess the level of iodine in salt samples at the household andretail shop levels; and to study the profile of salt sold at retailshops.methods: this study was carried out by using the 30-clustersurvey method in the primary schools of the rural areas in bharuchdistrict. a total of 70 students, including five boys and five girlsfrom the first to seventh classes, who were present in class on theday of the visit were selected randomly for goiter examinationfrom each village. urine samples were collected from one boy andone girl from each class in each cluster. from each community,a maximum of two boys and two girls from each standard in thesame age group were examined and also salt samples were testedfrom their households. from each village, one retail shop wasvisited and the salt purchased from those shops was immediatelytested for iodine with spot kits.results: we found a goiter prevalence of 23.2% (grade 1 – 17.4% andgrade 2 – 5.8%). as the age increased, the goiter prevalence decreasedexcept in nine-year-olds. the median urinary iodine excretion levelwas 110 ?g/l. an iodine level > 15 ppm was found in 93% of thesalt samples tested at the household level.conclusion: the present study showed moderate goiter prevalencein primary school children in the bharuch district of gujarat andan inadequate iodine content of salt at some household levels.