Iodine deficiency in pregnant women in eastern Turkey (Malatya Province): 7 years after the introduction of mandatory table salt iodization.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the urinary I excretion of pregnant women in Malatya Province, eastern Turkey. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study was performed on pregnant women in urban and rural settlements of Malatya Province. SUBJECTS: Urinary I excretion was measured for 824 pregnant women who were randomly selected using a probability-proportional-to-size sampling methodology. RESULTS: Median urinary I concentration (UIC) of pregnant women was 77.4 microg/l. The percentage of pregnant women with UIC below 100 microg/l was 83.3. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that I deficiency disorders (IDD) is still a problem in Malatya Province and most certainly in other parts of the country. Proper monitoring of I content of the salt sold or used in the area, in order to strengthen the IDD intervention programme, is suggested.

Prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine status of 7-11-year-old children in Malatya province, Turkey.

Goiter prevalence and urinary iodine excretion levels were assessed in 568 schoolchildren (317 boys and 251 girls), aged 7-11 years, living in the Malatya province, a well-known endemic goiter area in Turkey. Five hundred sixty-eight children aged 7-11 years consented to thyroid gland palpation and provided a urine sample on the day of examination in April 2004. Median urinary iodine concentration for the total group was 66 microg/L. There was an association between presence of goiter or not and urinary iodine levels (67 microg/L versus 62 microg/L, p=0.000). The median urinary iodine concentration was lower in rural areas than in urban areas (54.6 microg/L versus 59.7 microg/L, respectively) and schoolchildren living in rural areas had significantly lower urinary iodine levels (p=0.000). In conclusion, the present study reports mild iodine deficiency in the Malatya province, despite a mandatory iodization program in Turkey which has been in force since 1998.

Physical, emotional and sexual violence during pregnancy in Malatya, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: In Turkey, violence against women was established as a critical area of concern related to women and various prevention strategies have been developed since 1980. There are limited numbers of studies on violence during pregnancy in the country. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of physical, emotional and sexual violence during pregnancy in Malatya province and the associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional interview survey was conducted among pregnant women living in Malatya province between October 2003 and May 2004. Stratified probability-proportional-to-size sampling methodology was used for selecting the study population. A total of 824 pregnant women from 60 clusters were studied. Association between violence prevalences and womens' sociodemographic, fertility and behavioural characteristics were evaluated. RESULTS: During pregnancy 31.7% of women were exposed to any form of violence. Emotional violence was the most frequently reported form (26.7%), followed by sexual (9.7%) and physical violence (8.1%). Regular smoking [odds ratio (OR) 1.6], unwanted pregnancy (OR 1.8), living in urban area (OR 1.5), low education level of husband (OR 1.7), low family income (OR 1.9) and being in second trimester (OR 1.4) were determined to be the main predictors of overall violence during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Violence during pregnancy is a common public health problem in Malatya. Low education level in partners, low family income, husband's unemployment, urban settlement, unwanted pregnancy and smoking should alert health staff towards violence at pregnancy and training of health personnel on the subject is recommended.