1000
Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr (1997) 6(3): 224-225
Asia Pacific J Clin
Nutr (1997) 6(3): 224-225
Short Communication
Iodine
status of pregnant mothers residing in a district of endemic iodine
deficiency in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India
U Kapil MD(ComMed), N Saxena, S Ramachandran,
D Nayar MSc(Nutr)
Department of Human Nutrition, All
India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India
For the last 40 years the Kullu district in Himachal
Pradesh, India, has been recognised as an area of endemic iodine
deficiency. The state government has adopted a policy of universal
iodisation of salt since 1984. The iodine status of pregnant mothers
is an indicator of the community status of iodine deficiency. This
study was, therefore, undertaken on the iodine status of pregnant
mothers to assess the impact of universal salt iodisation. A total
of 147 pregnant mothers between 20-30 years of age in their second
and third trimesters, attending the antenatal clinic at the district
hospital, were selected for the study. Urine samples were collected
from all the pregnant mothers and analysed using standard laboratory
methods. It was found that 0.68% of the pregnant mothers had urinary
iodine excretion between 2.0-4.9 mcg/dL, 8.8 % between 5.0-9.9 mcg/dL
and 90.5% had 10 mcg/dL or more, where below 10 signifies iodine
deficiency disorder (IDD). This indicates that there is a need to
strengthen the implementation of the universal salt iodisation program
in the Kullu district to combat IDD.
Key words: IDD (Iodine Deficiency
Disorder), pregnancy, iodised salt, urinary iodine excretion, India,
Himachal Pradesh
Introduction
Iodine deficiency is a public health problem in India.
In all districts in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Iodine Deficiency
Disorders (IDD) are endemic1, In District Kullu in particular
(in Himachal Pradesh), endemic iodine deficiency is recognised. Since
1984 the state government, has adopted a policy of universal salt
iodisation under which the entire population of the state is to receive
salt with a minimum of 15ppm of iodine2.
A reliable method of assessing the extent of IDD in
a population is to determine the urinary iodine excretion levels in
a vulnerable group3. Pregnant mothers are a susceptible
group for assessing iodine deficiency as the iodine requirements during
this physiological state are comparatively high. It is a group recommended
for active assessment of iodine status3.
The present study was undertaken to assess the iodine
status of pregnant mothers in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy
in an (IDD) endemic area of Himachal Pradesh.
Materials
and 1000 Method
The study was conducted in Kullu district of the state
of Himachal Pradesh. One hundred and forty seven pregnant women from
the second and third trimesters of pregnancy attending the antenatal
clinic at the district hospital were randomly selected for the study.
The pregnant women were in the 20-30 year age group and belonged to
the middle income group.
Casual urine samples were collected from pregnant
women in screw type plastic bottles and were transported to the laboratory.
The urine samples were kept in a refrigerator until analysis in order
to avoid evaporation. The urinary iodine content was estimated using
the standard method4.
Results and
Discussion
The urinary iodine excretion of pregnant mothers included
in the study is depicted in Table 1. Results revealed that 9.5% of
women had an iodine excretion of less than 10 ug/dl, indicating that
the pregnant women were suffering from IDD. this area.
In the state of Himachal Pradesh, there has been a
ban on the procurement and sale of non-iodised salt since 1984, however
iodine deficiency is still amongst the pregnant mothers. This could
possibly be due to the consumption of salt with an inadequate iodine
content.
An evaluation study conducted in 6 districts of Himachal
Pradesh revealed that 44% of the salt samples collected from 326 households
and 98 retail traders had an iodine content less than 15ppm5.
Another study revealed a high prevalence of goitre amongst the school
children6. The results of the present study are consistent
with these findings.
There is a need to further strengthen the monitoring
of the quality of salt that is procured and distributed to the population
residing in Kullu district in order to combat IDD.
Table 1. Urinary iodine excretion level of
pregnant mothers. (n=147).
| Urinary
iodine excretion (m g/dL) |
Pregnant mothers
|
Iodine deficiency status
|
|
No
|
%
|
|
| <2.0 |
0
|
-
|
Severe
|
| 2.0-4.9 |
1
|
0.7
|
Moderate
|
| 5.0-9.9 |
3
|
8.8
|
Mild
|
| 10 above |
133
|
90.5
|
No deficiency
|
References
- 1Sooch SS, Deo MG, Karmarkar MG, Kochupillai N,
Ramachandran K, Ramalingaswami V. Prevention of endemic goitre with
iodized salt. Bull WHO 1973; 49: 307-12.
- Prakash R, Sunderesan S, Mohan R, Mukherjee S,
Vir S, Kapil U. Universalization of access to iodised salt-a mid-decade
goal. The Salt Department, Ministry of Industry, Government of India.
Thompson press(India) ltd,1994: 2-6.
- Report of a Joint WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD consultation
on Indicators for assessing the iodine deficiency disorders and
their control programmes, Geneva, World Health Organisation, 1992.
- Dunn J T, Crutchfield H E, Gutekunst R, Dunn D.
Methods for measuring iodine in urine. A joint publication by WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD,
1993: 18-23.
- Kapil U, Nayar D. Iodised salt and it’s iodine
contents in Himachal Pradesh, India . Journal of Health and Population,
Perspective and Issues 1994; 17: 41-46.
- Vir S. Control of Iodine deficiency. Nutrition
Foundation of India Bulletin 1994; 15: 1-4.
Iodine status of pregnant mothers
residing in a district of endemic iodine deficiency in the state of
Himachal Pradesh, India
U Kapil, N Saxena, S Ramachandran, D Nayar
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1997) Volume 6, Number
3: 224-225
Copyright © 1997 [Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical
Nutrition]. All rights reserved.
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