Association between Goiter Prevalence and Urine Iodine Levels in 6-12-Year-Old Children in Central Iran

Background: goiter is thyroid enlargement, which is the mostcommon visible symptom of iodine deficiency. some studieshave shown iodine deficiency in water, soil, and food in manyplaces worldwide.we aimed to determine the prevalence of goiter and the association between urine iodine levels in children with severityand prevalence of goiter in mountainous villages of kashancity (center of iran).methods: this descriptive-analytical study was performed on263 children aged 6-12 years in villages of kashan. in the presentstudy, goiter and its grading was determined by who standard method. the patients’ urine iodine levels were measuredby pino method (ammonium oxidation) and compared with standard scales.results: of the children, 39.5% had goiter and the prevalencein girls was higher than boys (45.8% (nu) 33.3%; p<0.03). all the patients with urine iodine level less than 25(mu)g/grcr (gramcreatinine), 87.5% of patients with urine iodine level less than100 (mu)g/grcr and 24% of patients with urine iodine level morethan 100 (mu)g/grcr had goiter.conclusion: the prevalence of goiter in mountainous places of kashan is 39.5%. although the people of these villages used iodized salt for years, these regions remain endemic parts of iodine deficiency. there was a significant association between urine iodine levels and the severity and prevalence of goiter(p< 0.001).