THE EFFECT OF EATING IODIZED SALT FORTIFIED BREAKFAST ON THE INTELLIGENCE QUOTIENTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: A RANDOMIZED DOUBLE BLIND CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of iodized salt fortified breakfast on the IQ scores of primary school children. Setting: A private, semi urban school. Study Design: Randomized double blind controlled trial. Participants: All 230 children, Grades 1 to 3, ages 6 to 9 years old of the private elementary school were screened. 120 students met the inclusion criteria, 8 were dropped out. 58 children were randomly assigned to receive iodized salt and 54 to receive non iodized salt. Outcome Measures: Improvement in IQ was considered if there was a noted difference of at least 5 points between pre test and post test. The participants scholastic performances were also compared. Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis was performed using SPSSPS+ and Epi- Info (version 6.0) software. Characteristics of patients upon entry to the study were compared using paired t test. Improvements in IQ and scholastic performances were assessed by using a 2×2 table chi square test. Risk ratio at 95% confidence interval was also calculated. Linear regression and logistic regression were done in cases of significantly different variables at baseline. Results: All 4 components of Stanford Binet Intelligence test were noted to have significantly improved after iodized salt was incorporated to the breakfasts of school aged children for 2 months. Overall IQ scores also improved significantly. Significant improvement was noted on academic grades on the following subjects: English, Filipino, Math, Civics and MAPE. On the other hand, there was no noted improvement of grades in CBA and science. Academic average significantly improved after the intervention period. Conclusion: Children given iodized salt fortified food, resulting to increased urinary iodine concentrations, have a significant improvement on the IQ scores and scholastic grades than did the group with no iodized salt food fortification.