Interaction of two public health problems in Turkish schoolchildren: nutritional deficiencies and goitre.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to determine the interaction of and association between frequency of goitre detected by palpation, nutritional status evaluated by anthropometric indices and socio-economic status in school-aged children.


METHODS
One thousand and eighteen prepubertal and pubertal children (aged 6-14 years) attending primary schools in an urban area were included in this study.


METHODS
All subjects were evaluated for the presence of goitre and nutritional status. Thyroid size was assessed using the World Health Organization's (WHO) palpation system (1960). Severity of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) was based on WHO criteria. Children were grouped into four categories of socio-economic status.


RESULTS
Eight per cent of children were detected to have goitre by palpation. Body mass index and weight-for-height were significantly lower in children who had palpable goitre than in children who did not have goitre (P<0.05). Frequencies of having palpable goitre and being stunted and underweight were especially higher in children with very low socio-economic status (P=0.016, 0.01 and 0.01, respectively). Frequency of being stunted, underweight and wasted in children with palpable goitre did not change significantly according to socio-economic status (P>0.05). In logistic regression analyses, the most important factor in detection of palpable goitre was socio-economic status (B=0.517, P=0.004). Fathers' education and occupation were found to be most significant (P=0.031 and 0.020, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Children detected to have palpable goitre were thinner. However, nutritional disorders were not more frequent among children with palpable goitre compared with children without goitre. Goitre and nutritional deficiencies were more common in children with lower socio-economic status but the frequency of nutritional disorders in children with palpable goitre did not change according to socio-economic status.
Ersoy
Betul
B
Celal Bayar University, Medical Faculty, Department of Pediatrics, Manisa, Turkey. betul.ersoy@bayar.edu.tr
Günes
Hafize Sunalcan
HS
Gunay
Turkan
T
Yilmaz
Ozge
O
Kasirga
Erhun
E
Egemen
Ayten
A
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011153:Population; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology