Comparison of Different Indicators of Iodine Deficiency in School Children

To compare different indicators of iodine deficiency disorders (100) inschool children from study sites in bangladesh, indonesia, guatemala, and the united states.materials and methods: cross-sectional surveys were performed in savar, bangladesh; sukabumi, indonesia; san pedro sacatepequez, guatemala; and atlanta, united states. in each study site, school children were assessed for thyroid size by palpation and thyroid volume by ultrasonography, urine specimens collected for iodineconcentration, and finger stick blood specimens spotted onto filter paper for assessment of thyroid stimulating hormone (tsh) andthyroglobulin (tg). weights and heights were collected in all sites except guatemala.results: between 305 to 518 school children were surveyed in each site. indicators based on thyroid size tended to indicate more severe levels of iodine deficiency compared to urinary iodine based on who/unicef/iccidd criteria. tsh levels appeared to correlate well with other indicators of 100 whereas tg did not.conclusions: in these study sites, it appeared that urinary iodine, thyroid volume (based on body surface area), palpation, and tsh wereconsistent in identifying the bangladesh site as having the highest prevalence of 100, followed by sites in indonesia, guatemala, and the united states. the prevalence of goiter indicated more severe levels of 100 compared to urinary iodine levels. tg was not significantly different between the study sites.