Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The integrated quantitative and qualitative method was used to evaluate the impact of a ten-year iodine intervention programme on school children’s health status in rural areas of Tehran.

Methods: In survey, 188 students aged 6–15 years of two villages, Kiga and Ahar, were studied. These villages that are situated near the Tehran, were known for sever endemic goitre in previous studies. The clinical and biochemical measurement carried out and results were compared with data from our previous study in 1989. The focus group discussion (FGD) was used to complement the clinical and biomedical evaluation. The subjective views and experiences of parents (n=51) were explored in six FGDs; four groups of women (n=36) and two groups of men (n=15). These parents were asked whether changes in children’s health and any changes in goitre rate were due to iodine supplementation or other socio-economic factors. Data were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed using content analysis.

Results: The survey results showed a significant decrease in goitre grades (P<0.001). The studied variables such as urinary iodine excretion and thyroid hormones concentrations were within the normal range in all school children. Based on FGDs findings, parents believed the administration of iodised oil and the subsequent use of iodine salt was mainly responsible for reduction in goitre and prevention of Iodine deficiency. They reported that increased knowledge of the causes of goitre, and changes in the pattern of food consumption; were also contributory factors in improving children’s health status.

Conclusion: This study showed the importance of collecting subjective as well as objective data for the evaluation of any long- term nutrition intervention programme.