title: Prevalence of iodine deficiency disorders among school children in Saudi Arabia: results of a national iodine nutrition study.
abstract: This study aimed at establishing updated data on iodine nutrition among schoolchildren in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional cluster survey among schoolchildren aged 8-10 years was conducted during February-April 2012. Children were clinically examined for goitre, urine and household salt samples were collected to estimate urinary iodine concenteration (UIC) and iodine content in salt. The overall goitre prevalence at the national level among 4 016 children was 4.2%. The prevalence was < 5% in all regions of the country except southern region with a prevalence of 12.7%. The median UIC of 2224 samples was 133 μg/L, with 74.3% of the surveyed children with UIC ≥ 100 μg/L. Analysis of salt samples (n = 4242) revealed that 69.8% of households were consuming adequately iodized salt. The findings suggest iodine sufficiency at the national level, however southern region still has a goitre prevalence of mild degree severity and the proportion of households consuming adequately iodized salt is still below recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Al-Dakheel
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Haridi
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Al-Bashir
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Shingiti
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Shehri
authors.affiliation: Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gassem
authors.affiliation: Lipidomics and Nutrition Research Centre, London Metropolitan University, London, UK; Iodine Global Network (IGN), Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hussein
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006042:Goiter / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007455:Iodine / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D007455:Iodine