Scrimshaw Nevin S
International Nutrition Foundation, USA.
Food Nutr Bull. 2010 Mar;31(1):111-7. doi: 10.1177/156482651003100111.
The high prevalence of goiter among adults in its member countries of Central America and Panama was observed as soon as INCAP began field studies. This led to systematic studies of goiter in schoolchildren in all of the countries as described, beginning with Guatemala where the rate was 38% nationally. However, efforts to eliminate the consequences of iodine with iodized salt using the water soluble potassium iodate and a process that had proved successful in Switzerland and the United States could not be used with the crude moist salt of the region. INCAP identified potassium iodate that is insoluble in water, and in four schools (two each in El Salvador and Guatemala) proved that the iodine in this compound was as available as that in potassium iodate. It remained evenly distributed in moist salt. When added to salt in Guatemala, goiter rate dropped to 15% in four years and less than 5% in eight years. Compulsory iodation of salt in other developing countries followed with comparable results. This method is now used in worldwide campaigns against iodine deficiency in developing countries.
自中美洲和巴拿马的成员国开展中美洲营养研究所（INCAP）的实地研究以来，就发现这些国家的成年人甲状腺肿发病率很高。这促使对所有这些国家的学童甲状腺肿情况进行了系统研究，情况如前文所述，研究始于危地马拉，该国全国的发病率为38%。然而，使用水溶性碘酸钾以及在瑞士和美国已证明成功的方法，通过加碘盐来消除碘缺乏后果的努力，无法应用于该地区的粗湿盐。中美洲营养研究所确定了不溶于水的碘酸钾，并在四所学校（萨尔瓦多和危地马拉各两所）证明，这种化合物中的碘与碘酸钾中的碘一样易于利用。它在湿盐中保持均匀分布。在危地马拉将其添加到盐中后，甲状腺肿发病率在四年内降至15%，八年内降至5%以下。其他发展中国家随后实行了强制食盐加碘，也取得了类似结果。这种方法目前用于在发展中国家开展的全球消除碘缺乏病运动。
