title: Iodine nutritional status among school children in selected areas of Howrah District in West Bengal, India.
abstract: This article is a study on iodine nutritional status among 1627 school children aged 6-12 years, along with biochemical analysis of iodine of 200 urine samples, 50 drinking water samples and 175 salt samples carried out in certain randomly selected areas of the district Howrah in Gangetic West Bengal. Results indicate that the entire region is clinically goitre endemic having goitre prevalence 38%; however the median urinary iodine level was 25 microg/dl indicating no biochemical iodine deficiency, 70% salt samples had a recommended level of iodine and the region was found to be environmentally iodine sufficient. Consumption of dietary goitrogen and hard drinking water may have the possible role for the persistence of endemic goitre in the region.
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology Laboratory, Department of Physiology, University College of Science and Technology, University of Calcutta, 92, Acharya Profulla Chandra Road, Kolkata 700 009, India. amark_chandra@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Amar K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: Arijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Debnath
authors.forename: Smritiratan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tripathy
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006043:Goiter, Endemic / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007455:Iodine / Q000032:analysis / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000032:analysis; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D007455:Iodine