RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To measure the frequency of goiter and the presence of potential goitrogens in a sample of school-age children and pregnant women. METHODS: Cross-sectional study in a purposive sample in three regions, one with known high prevalence of goiter (Huejutla), one with unknown prevalence (Ixmiquilpan) and one with no expected deficiency (Pachuca). Children were sampled from schools and pregnant women from rural reference hospitals. Goiter was evaluated by manual exam and ultrasound. RESULTS: Goiter prevalence in 673 children between 6 and 14 years old was 8 in Pachuca, 9 in Ixmiquilpan, and 14 in Huejutla. In 300 pregnant women, goiter prevalence was 19 in Pachuca, 20 in Ixmiquilpan, and 52 in Huejutla. In 936 interviews on salt consumption, 98 of families consumed table salt, but only 50 of the samples were adequately iodized. Twenty-four percent of families obtained water from wells contaminated with arsenicum and mercury in Pachuca and Ixmiquilpan, and with colibacilli in Ixmiquilpan. CONCLUSIONS: Even at the end of the millenium, endemic goiter is still a public health problem in this sample of school-age children and pregnant women. Despite consumption of iodized salt, ingestions of goitrogens may be contributing to the persistence of this problem.