EVALUATION OF IODINE SUFFICIENCY IN SCHOOL CHILDREN OF MARKAZI PROVINCE, 2001

Introduction: Markazi province was one of the regions with endemic goiter in Iran. Following initiation of iodine deficiency control program in 1989, production, distribution and consumption of iodized salt begun. This survey was conducted in the frame work of national monitoring survey in 2001 to find the prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine level in order to evaluate the iodine status of school age children in Markazi province. Materials and Methods: 1200 school children (600 boys and 600 girls), aged 7-10 years, were selected randomly from all regions of Markazi province. The grade of Goiter was determined according to WHO classification and urinary iodine content was estimated using the digestion method in one tenth of the these children. Data was analyzed using T, Chi square and Pearson tests. Results: Total Goiter rate was 4.4% (4.4% in girls and 4.4% in boys). Urinary iodine median was 16.7 μg/dl. Urinary iodine was above 10 μg/dl in 81.2% and less than 5 μg/dl in 9.2% of samples. No one had urinary iodine below 2 μg/dl. Conclusion: It is concluded that the rate of Goiter in Markazi province has decreased significantly since 1986 and urinary iodine levels in school children are indicative of adequate iodine intake. Therefore Markazi province can be considered as an iodine deficiency free zone.