Prevalence of Iodine Deficiency Disorders - A School Based study in Aligarh

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Iodine deficiency is one of the most neglected and wide spread of all nutritional deficiencies, constituting a real brake on human development. Deficiency of iodine may result in development of goitre and other Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). Objective: To assess the status of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in school children. Methods: This study was conducted among school children of 1st to 5th standard (6–12 yrs.) from 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2013. A total of 950 students of seven schools were included in the study using proportionate to population size (PPS) method. Each child was examined clinically. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Result. Age distribution of the study population shows that majority of the students (30.5%) belonged to 11-12 years, and most of the students (56.2%) were males. Only 17 (1.8%) students had goitre. Goitre prevalence was slightly higher (1.9%) in the 6-8 years age group and in females (1.9%). Manifestations of iodine deficiency other than goitre, were retarded growth (0.6%), squint (0.3%), deafness (0.2%), lethargy (0.5%), and mental retardation (0.1%).  Conclusion. In the present study, Aligarh may be classified as non-endemic for iodine deficiency as the goitre prevalence in school children was only 1.8%, below the 5.0%, required for endemicity. Sustained IEC (Information, Education and Communication) activities should be carried out to sensitize the people regarding IDD.