Prevalence of iodine deficiency disorders among 6 to 12 years school children of Ramanagara district, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Background: Iodine is an essential micronutrient with an RDA of 100-150 μg for normal human growth and mental development. Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) constitute the single largest cause of preventable brain damage worldwide. Majority of consequences of IDD are invisible and irreversible but at the same time these are preventable. The study was conducted to assess the prevalence of goiter in school children aged 6-12 years and to assess the level of iodine concentration in salt samples obtained from households of selected school children. Methods: Population proportionate to size sampling. Sample size: 90 primary school-going children of age 6-12 years in each selected village, total 2700 from 30 villages in Ramanagara district, Karnataka, India. Results: The prevalence of goiter among the 6 - 12 years children was found to be 8.6%. Females had higher prevalence compared to males in all the age groups but the difference was not statistically significant (0.437). Of the 540 salt samples, 518(95.3%) had iodine concentration ≥15 ppm at household level. Conclusions: IDD is a mild public health problem in Ramanagara district. There is a need of periodic surveys to assess the change in magnitude of the IDD with respect to impact of iodized salt (IS) intervention.