Prevalence of goiter among school children and iodine content in edible salt and drinking water in Rampurhat Sub-division of Birbhum District in West Bengal, India

Abstract

Background: A deficiency of iodine in the diet leads to many visible and invisible health consequences. The major consequences of iodine deficiency are enlargement of the thyroid gland, mental defects, deaf mutism, stillbirth, and miscarriage. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of goiter among schoolchildren in the Rampurhat Sub-division of Birbhum district in West Bengal. Methods: A total of 2712 school children (6–12 years) were clinically examined for goiter from eight CD Blocks and two Municipalities of the studied region. Iodine content in 350 salt samples and 80 drinking water samples were measured. Results: The overall goiter prevalence was found to be 13.13%. Most of the goiter is palpable, i.e., Grade 1 goiter, however visible, or grade 2 goiter also exists. Observation showed that 18.28% of samples had iodine levels less than the recommended value of 15 ppm. However, the iodine contents in the drinking water samples were adequate. Conclusion: Observation suggests a mild degree of goiter endemicity as a public health issue, though the study region’s people consume adequate iodine through edible salt and drinking water. Based on this observation, it may be concluded that to prevent and control this public health problem from the studied region, iodine nutritional status as evidenced by urinary iodine level and studies to find the etiological factors other than iodine deficiency are most urgent.