Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ministry of Education, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Nutr J. 2018 Feb 28;17(1):35. doi: 10.1186/s12937-018-0343-0.
This study was conducted to assess household coverage with iodized salt in Saudi Arabia, and to determine adequacy of salt iodization.
A school-based cross-sectional study using WHO 30-cluster survey methodology.
Analysis of 4242 salt samples using qualitative rapid test kit (RTK) revealed that 68.7% (95% CI 67.3-70.1%) were iodized with significant regional differences (p < 0.001). The highest iodized salt samples came from Makkah (82.3%), Riyadh (81.1%) and Maddinah (76.2%) regions, while the least iodized salt samples came from Hail (31.3%), Baha (53.0%), and Northern Borders (57.5%) regions. The national weighted proportion of households consuming iodizes salt was 69.8% (95% CI 69.4-71.2), which is below the Universal Salt Iodization (USI) goal (≥90% coverage). For validation, a quantitative iodometric titration method was used to analyze 775 representative salt samples screened iodized by RTK; iodine content of ≥15 ppm was found in 95.2% (95% CI 93.9-96.5) of samples with median iodine content 51 ppm (mean 50.4 ± 21.8). More than 70% of the iodized salt samples contained iodine concentration higher than the recommended national level (15-40 ppm).
The study revealed inadequate consumption of iodized salt among Saudi households and explored marked regional heterogeneity. The majority of iodized salt samples contained iodine concentration more than the recommended level. These findings imply the need to launch a public awareness campaign on use of iodized salt. Legislation to ban production and sale of non-iodized salt sale for human consumption might be considered. A well-functioning monitoring system at factory level and surveillance system are crucially needed to ensure proper salt iodization and intake.
本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯家庭用碘盐的覆盖率，并确定盐碘化的充足性。
采用世界卫生组织（WHO）30 个集群调查方法进行基于学校的横断面研究。
使用定性快速检测试剂盒（RTK）对 4242 个盐样本进行分析显示，68.7%（95%置信区间 67.3-70.1%）为碘盐，且存在显著的地区差异（p<0.001）。碘盐含量最高的盐样本来自麦加（82.3%）、利雅得（81.1%）和麦地那（76.2%）地区，而碘盐含量最低的盐样本来自哈伊勒（31.3%）、巴哈（53.0%）和北部边境（57.5%）地区。全国加权家庭食用碘盐的比例为 69.8%（95%置信区间 69.4-71.2%），低于普遍食盐碘化（USI）目标（覆盖率≥90%）。为了验证，采用定量碘量滴定法对 RTK 筛选出的 775 个代表性盐样本进行分析；发现 95.2%（95%置信区间 93.9-96.5%）的样本中碘含量≥15 ppm，中位数碘含量为 51 ppm（平均值 50.4±21.8）。超过 70%的碘盐样本的碘浓度高于推荐的国家水平（15-40 ppm）。
研究表明，沙特家庭对碘盐的摄入不足，且存在明显的地区差异。大多数碘盐样本的碘浓度都高于推荐水平。这些发现表明，需要开展关于使用碘盐的公众意识运动。可以考虑立法禁止生产和销售供人类食用的非碘盐。迫切需要在工厂层面建立一个运作良好的监测系统和监测系统，以确保适当的盐碘化和摄入。
