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.
Eğri
Mücahit
M
Department of Public Health, Inönü University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
Bayraktar
Nihayet
N
Temel
Ismail
I
Ercan
Cihan
C
Mehtap Ilgar
Erkan Pehlivan
EP
Karaoğlu
Leyla
L
Güneş
Gülsen
G
Genç
Metin
M
D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006043:Goiter, Endemic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007455:Iodine / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
D007455:Iodine