Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Iodine is an essential micronutrient. Iodine deficiency (ID) among adolescent girls could lead to ID amongst the newborns as they are the future mothers. Uttarakhand state is a known endemic region for ID.

Objective: The present study was conducted with an objective to assess the iodine nutritional status amongst adolescent girls in districts: Udham Singh Nagar (USN), Nainital (N), and Pauri (P) of Uttarakhand state.

Methods: In each district, 30 clusters (schools) were identified by utilising population proportionate to size (PPS) cluster sampling methodology. In each school, 60 girls (12–18 years) attending the schools were included. A total of 5430 girls from USN (1823), N (1811), and P (1796) were studied. Clinical examination of thyroid of each girl was conducted. From each cluster, on the spot urine and salt samples were collected from 20 girls.

Results: Total goitre rate (TGR) was found to be 6.8% (USN), 8.2% (N), and 5.6% (P) respectively. Median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) levels were 250 μg/l (USN), 200 μg/l (N), and 183 μg/l (P) indicating adequate iodine status amongst the study population. The percentage of families consuming salt with iodine content of <15 p.p.m. were 59.5 (USN), 44.0 (N), and 46.7 (P) percent.

Conclusion: Findings of the present study documented that adolescent girls had adequate iodine nutritional status in three districts of Uttarakhand.