Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of the Sustainable Elimination of Iodine Deficiency Program through determination of urinary iodine and goiter prevalence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Cuban school children aged 6 to 11 years old in 2011-2012. A stratified multistage sample was used in which the levels of iodine excretion in urine (urinary iodine) and the presence of goiter were determined. RESULTS: The median urinary iodine was 176.3 µg/L; 7.6% of the students showed some deficiency of iodine, only 2.2% were below 50 µg/L (severe deficiency), and 15.3% had urinary iodine above 300 µg/L. The percentage of school children with optimal iodine nutrition was 43.5%, this category showed a significantly higher frequency (p=0.03) in the mountain areas (52.5%). Goiter prevalence was 17.6% which corresponds to a mild endemic. However, in the mountain area the prevalence was 32.6% (severe endemic). CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive analysis of the impact of iodine deficiency control measures assessed by urinary iodine excretion and goiter prevalence reflects that it is no longer a population health problem in urban and rural areas of Cuba, attributable to a proper process of salt iodization. Nevertheless, high goiter prevalence is still observed in the mountain area of Cuba.
Institution: Instituto de Nutricion e Higiene de los Alimentos
Language: Spanish
Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W1906045992