Joshi Anand Ballabh, Banjara Megha Raj, Bhatta Lok Ranjan, Rikimaru Toru, Jimba Masamine
Research Unit, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Nepal Med Coll J. 2006 Jun;8(2):111-4.
Iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) is a major micronutrient deficiency problem in Nepal. Urinary iodine estimation has been the gold standard employed for the assessment of iodine status and of IDD. This study was conducted with objective to assess the urinary iodine among the school children of Kavre, Lalitpur and Parsa districts. Attempts were made to relate urinary iodine with salt use and other sociodemographic variables. Altogether 190 urine samples (74 samples from Kavre, 89 from Parsa and 27 from Lalitpur district) were collected from school children aged 5-13 years. The urinary iodine was analyzed by using urinary iodine assay kit (Bioclone Australia Pvt Limited). It was found that 3.2% children had urine iodine concentration below 20 microg/l. Similarly, the percentage of children with urine iodine concentration 21-50 microg/l, 51-99 microg/l, 100-299 microg/l and above 300 microg/l were 14.2%, 10.5%, 43.7% and 28.4% respectively. Iodine deficient population of school children was 39.2% of Kavre, 19.1% of Parsa and 25.9% of Lalitpur. Overall, it was found that 27.9% children had urine iodine level less than the normal WHO levels. The median urine iodine level was 139.0 microg/l of Kavre, 266.7 microg/l of Parsa and 244.4 microg/l of Lalitpur school children. Urinary iodine excretion (UIE) median value among male students was 211.9 microg/l, among female students was 190.2 microg/l and the difference was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). There was no significant correlation between consumed salt iodine level and urine iodine excretion level (P > 0.05). Short-term iodine supplementation programs should be arranged for iodine deficient children in the study districts. This study shows that IDD continues to be prevalent in the country as a major public health problem, which requires strengthening effective intervention program and other preventive measures.
碘缺乏症（IDD）是尼泊尔一个主要的微量营养素缺乏问题。尿碘测定一直是评估碘状况和碘缺乏症的金标准。本研究旨在评估卡夫雷、拉利特布尔和帕尔萨三个地区学童的尿碘情况。研究尝试将尿碘与食盐使用情况及其他社会人口统计学变量联系起来。共收集了190份5至13岁学童的尿样（其中74份来自卡夫雷地区，89份来自帕尔萨地区，27份来自拉利特布尔地区）。使用尿碘检测试剂盒（澳大利亚比奥克隆私人有限公司）对尿碘进行分析。结果发现，3.2%的儿童尿碘浓度低于20微克/升。同样，尿碘浓度在21至50微克/升、51至99微克/升、100至299微克/升以及高于300微克/升的儿童比例分别为14.2%、10.5%、43.7%和28.4%。卡夫雷地区碘缺乏的学童人口占39.2%，帕尔萨地区为19.1%，拉利特布尔地区为25.9%。总体而言，发现27.9%的儿童尿碘水平低于世界卫生组织的正常水平。卡夫雷地区学童的尿碘中位数水平为139.0微克/升，帕尔萨地区为266.7微克/升，拉利特布尔地区为244.4微克/升。男学生的尿碘排泄（UIE）中位数为211.9微克/升，女学生为190.2微克/升，差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。食盐碘含量水平与尿碘排泄水平之间无显著相关性（P>0.05）。应为研究地区碘缺乏的儿童安排短期碘补充计划。本研究表明，碘缺乏症作为一个主要的公共卫生问题在该国仍然普遍存在，这需要加强有效的干预计划和其他预防措施。
