Sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disorders in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia: an assessment

Objective To evaluate the completion of a goal in elimination of iodine deficiency disorders IDD) in the 12th five-year plan for prevention and control of endemic diseases, to analyze the present situation of IDD in prevention and to improve sustainable control strategies in the city of Wuhai in Inner Mongolia. Methods In 2015, using the specific sampling method, 5 units were selected from 3 counties of Wuhai according to their sub-area positions of east, south, west, north and center, and then 1 township was randomly selected from each unit, 40 school children (half males and half females) aged 8-10 and 20 pregnant women were investigated in each township. Goiter of children aged 8-10 was examined by B ultrasonic, the urinary iodine levels were detected by acid digestion arsenic-cerium contact method and the salt iodine levels were measured with the method of direct titrimetric method. Results Totally 900 edible salt samples of local residents had been examined and the median iodized salt iodine was 24.2 mg/kg, the consumption rate of iodized salt was 99.56% (896/900), the coverage rate of iodized salt was 99.78% (896/900), and the rate of qualified iodized salt was 99.78% (898/898). The goiter rate of children was 0.33% (2/600), urinary iodine level (UI) median was 221.6 μg/L in 600 children aged 8-10, the ratio of urinary iodine levels between 100-199 μg/L was 31.7% and the median of urinary iodine was 122.15 μg/L in 300 pregnant women, the ratio of urinary iodine between 150-250 μg/L was 26.7% (80/300). Conclusion Wuhai has achieved the goal of prevention and control of endemic disease prevention andcontrol of the 12th five-year plan, and reached the continuous state of elimination of IDD. Key words: Iodine; Urine; Data collection