Abstract
Background information: India achieved near universal iodisation of salt for human consumption a decade ago. Recent studies in the country, indicate that despite adequate intake of iodised salt and optimal median urinary iodine excretion (UIE), subclinical or overt hypothyroidism was seen in 10% of school children. There is a need to assess the magnitude of the iodine deficiency as assessed by UIE in women of reproductive age (WRA), pregnant and lactating women.
Methods: Urinary iodine excretion was estimated in two groups of non-pregnant, non-lactating WRA from low middle-income group living in three well defined blocks in Southwest Delhi. Group 1 had been using powdered packaged iodised salt purchased in the market for 1-10 years. Group 2 received adequately iodised salt from our institution and had used it continuously for 6-12 months.
Results: In Group 1 median urinary iodine excretion was 137.0 µg/L (inter-quartile range was 80.0-202.0 µg/L); in Group 2 median UIE was 130.5 µg/L (inter-quartile range was 80-193.8 µg/L). There were no significant differences in the median UIE between Group 1 and Group 2. Iodine nutritional status of women in Group 1 and 2 were assessed according to the WHO criteria. In both the groups about 1/3rd of the women had urinary iodine levels below 100 µg/L; about 5% of the women in both the groups had urinary iodine level ≥ 300 µg/L. None of the differences in iodine nutritional status as assessed by UIE between the two groups were statistically significant.
Conclusion: The median UIE and the iodine nutritional status in WRA reported in the present study is similar to the data on median UIE reported in national surveys in Indian school children. Further studies are needed to assess the magnitude of iodine deficiency in WRA, pregnant and lactating women.