Iodine deficiency - still a major public health problem in some areas of swat

To assess iodine deficiency in four villages of Kabal, Swat, a survey was conducted in children of age group of 5-15 years. 728 school going children were surveyed for the purpose. 17 [62.3%] male and 265 [57.3%] female children were suffering from goiter. Overall Total Goitre Rate [TGR] was 59.2%. Goitre prevalence among male and female children was almost the same [P< 0.005]. Goitre prevalence increased with age among males [P> 0.05]; while in females the prevalence almost remained unchanged [P> 0.05]. Estimation of urinary iodine revealed that 91 [26.5%], 70 [20.4%], 73 [21.3%] and 109 [31.8%] children were suffering from serve, moderate, mild and no deficiency, respectively. Analysis of salt sample collected from 400 families of the area showed that 28 [7.0%] families were using salt without iodine, 218 [54.5%] were using salt with less than 20 ppm of iodine while 154 [38.5%] families were using with more than 20 ppm of iodine. On the basis study we conclude that iodine deficiency is still a major public health problem in the area and needs correction. To improve the situation universal salt iodization needs to be implemented at least in this area