Assessment of iodine supplementation program on thyroid function in Sudan.

The aim of this Study is to investigate whether the Iodine Supplementation Programme is successful or not. This Programme was implemented in Nyala to treat the Iodine deficiency. In this Study Nyala was selected to act as (a study area), due to the history of Iodine deficiency of this region, while Khartoum was selected to act as (a control area). 2000 samples were collected from Khartoum versus 450 samples from Nyala. Thyroxine (T) and triiodothyronine (T) levels in two regions were measured and performed by using radioimmunoassay (RIA), also the immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) used for measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). The obtained results analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). (Coherent retrospective) used to determine differences between the study groups. The results of this study showed, there was no significant difference between the mean serum concentrations of T3 and TSH for Khartoum and Nyala. T4of Khartoum (117.93 ± 42.797) nmol/L and the mean serum T4 of Nyala (114.54 ± 45.526) nmol/L, the (P-value = 0.133).T3for Khartoum (1.8040 ± 0.99047) nmol/L and T3of Nyala (1.7307 ± 0.96508) nmol/L, the (P-value = 0.153). TSH for Khartoum (1.4480 ± 0.95807)mIU/Land the mean serum TSH of Nyala (1.4553 ± 1.0244) mIU/L, the (P-value = 0.885). The study showed a clear observation of improvement of hypothyroidism cases in Nyala while the ratio decreased from 64.09% to 0.6%. All the results were carried out according to normal range of Sudanese. The conclusion from this study the iodine supplementation programme is successful. The study recommends rising the health awareness among people by explain the severity of iodine deficiency, and continue in iodine supplementation programme, also establishment of monitoring system including monitoring the presence of iodized diets (sugar, salt, oils, and bread) in the markets. Finally, further studies are needed in other parts of Sudan to assess the size of iodine deficiency problem.