ABSTRACT
Introduction: Iodine deficiency is the leading cause of preventable brain damage, with 30% of the world's population suffering from iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs). The objectives of the study are to estimate the prevalence of goitre among schoolchildren in the age group of 6-12 years, to find out the proportion of households with adequately iodised salt, and to assess the dietary iodine intake by measuring urinary iodine levels in the urine samples of school-going children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four pre-selected districts of the Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir in school-going children aged 6 to 12 years. Multi-stage 30 cluster sampling was used to select the study sample. For the selection of 30 clusters in each district, probability proportional to size (PPS) was employed. From each cluster, 90 children were selected. From a sub-sample of children in each district, 540 salt samples and 270 urine samples were also collected. Results: A total of 10,800 children aged 6-12 years were examined. Grade I goitre was present in 1382 (12.8%) and 116 (1.07%) which were having Grade II goitre. The weighted prevalence of goitre for four districts was 12.6%, lowest for district Ganderbal and highest for district Shopian. Half of the population in all the districts consumed salt with iodine levels of <15 ppm. Urinary iodine levels <99.9 mg/L were present in 15.7% indicating mild to moderate iodine deficiency. Conclusion: Though the present survey showed some decline in the total goitre rate (TGR) from a prevalence of 14.8% in 2017 to 12.6% in 2022, it continues to be a public health problem of mild to moderate intensity in Kashmir. The salt consumed at the household level was inadequately iodised. Hence, efforts in IDD elimination activities need to be scaled up further with emphasis on iodised salt quality control and intensive education at the community level.
ABSTRACT
Background: The tide of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has scoured the global community with India, from 30 January 2020 to 30 September 2021, reporting 33,739,980 confirmed cases and over 448,090 deaths from coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Serologic testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection among the general public will provide essential information regarding the risk of infection. So, the present study was conducted to provide relevant information on the proportion of people who hadexperienced either a recent or past infection. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults >18 years in the Department of Community Medicine, Government medical college, Srinagar. Blood samples of the participants were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-based serologic test. Results: A total of 2,107 participants took part in the study. The overall unadjusted seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in our study was 49%. The age-adjusted seroprevalence was 52%. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggested that not only a large proportion (49%) of the participants had been infected with COVID-19 infection but many were also susceptible to infection. Therefore, infection control measures still need to be followed properly.
