Abstract
Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) is one of the biggest worldwide public health problems of today. Even if the coverage of iodized salt in Ethiopia is irregularly increasing, the coverage of households that use adequately iodized salt in different rural communities of Ethiopia was low. A community based cross sectional study was designed to assess availability of adequately iodized salt at household level and its associated factors in Horro woreda, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia from February to March, 2018. Data was collected using a structured and pretested questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was used to select households and data were analyzed using SPSS v. 20. Variables having p<0.25 in the bivariate logistic regression were entered into multivariate logistic regression analysis and finally, variables having p< 0.05 and 95% confidence internal (CI) were considered as significantly associated. The finding of this study revealed that about 23.6% respondents were utilized adequately iodized. The study also found that the knowledge and practice among participants was 63.8% and 60%, respectively. Moreover, access to information AOR (95% CI)=2.5 (1.1-5.55), wealth status AOR (95% CI)=4.7 (2.5-8.83), knowledge about the benefits of iodized salt AOR (95% CI)=1.4 (1.6-2.08) and salt storage place AOR (95% CI)=4.2 (2.33-13.54) were significantly associated with availability of adequately iodized salt during multivariate analysis. This study concluded that the proportion of households covered by adequately iodized salt in rural communities of the study was very low (23.6%) compared to the internationally recommended value to control iodine deficiency disorder (90%). Therefore, nutrition interventions through behavioral change communication (BCC) towards adequately iodized salt utilization and its practice should be strengthen by all concerned bodies to increase its coverage and to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders in rural communities of the study area.
Highlights
Iodine is an essential micronutrient for humans required in a very small amount [8]
This study concluded that the proportion of households covered by adequately iodized salt in rural communities of Horro Woreda, Oromia region, Ethiopia was low (23.6%) compared to the internationally recommended value to control iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) (>=90%)
This study revealed that participants’ had inadequate knowledge and practice regarding adequately iodized salt was 63.8% and 60%, respectively
Summary
Iodine is an essential micronutrient for humans required in a very small amount [8]. The daily recommended amount of iodine for normal function of thyroid gland is 150-200 μg/l for adults, 90-120 μg/l for children and 250 μg/l for pregnant and lactating mothers [19]. World health organization recommends (WHO) that the median iodine urinary level need to be within the range (100-199 μg/l) to ensure adequate iodine content in salt and other sources of iodine in the diet. When iodine intake falls below the recommended levels, the thyroid may no longer be able to synthesize sufficient amounts of thyroid hormones. This low level of thyroid hormones in the body is responsible for iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). The human body does not make iodine, so it is an essential part of diet [5]; found in various foods such as cheese, cow’s milk, eggs, frozen yogurt, ice cream, Iodine containing multi vitamins, iodized table salt, saltwater fish seaweeds, shellfish, soymilk and soy sauce
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