Iodine deficiency disorders in Bangladesh.

An extensive iodine deficiency disorders survey was conducted in Bangladesh in 1993 to assess the latest iodine nutriture status of the country. The clinical variables of the survey were goitre and cretinism, and the biochemical variable was urinary iodine. The "EPI-30 cluster" sampling methodology was followed for selecting the survey sites. In each survey site, the study population consisted of boys and girls, aged 5-11 years, and men and women, aged 15-44 years, in about equal populations. The total number of survey sites was 78 and the total number of respondents was 30,072. The total number of urine samples was 4512 (15% sub-sample). The current total goitre rate (grade 1 + grade 2) in Bangladesh is 47.1% (hilly, 44.4%; flood-prone, 50.7%; and plains, 45.6%). The prevalence of cretinism in the country is 0.5% (hilly, 0.8%; flood-prone, 0.5%; and plains, 0.3%). Nearly 69% of Bangladeshi population have biochemical iodine deficiency (urinary iodine excretion [UIE] < 10 mg/dl) (hilly, 84.4; flood-prone, 67.1%; and plains 60.4%). Women and children are more affected that men, in terms of both goitre prevalence and UIE. The widespread severe iodine deficiency in all ecological zones indicates that the country as a whole is an iodine-deficient region. Important recommendations of global interest are made from the experience of the survey.

Effect of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) fish in hypercholesterolemic subjects.

Tenualosa ilisha is a popular, tasty fish found in the rivers of Bangladesh round the year. The fish is rich in oil which provides mainly 16:0 and 18:1 fatty acids but also a little of w-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (w-3 PUFAs). The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of eating hilsa fish in hypercholesterolemic subjects. The fish was indeed found to have hypocholesterolemic effect in subjects who had hypercholesterolemia. After 10 months of eating 100g hilsa fish per day, serum total cholesterol level fell from 285.1 to 244.6 mg/dl (14.2% decrease) in the hypercholesterolemic subjects. But the difference was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). The fall in total cholesterol was exclusively due to fall in LDL-cholesterol. Serum triglyceride, serum HDL-cholesterol increased in the experimental subjects by 12.5%. On the other hand, serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not changed in control subjects. Both in control and experimental subjects there were no changes in body weight and blood pressure during the study period. The results indicate that hilsa fish, although it is fatty and contains cholesterol, but it may reduce blood cholesterol level in hypercholesterolemic subjects.