Persistence of iodine deficiency in a Gangetic floo d- prone area, West Bengal, India

In 2000, India revoked the ban on production and sa le of non-iodised salt. We conducted a study in th e north 24 parganas district in the state of West Bengal to ass ess the prevalence of goitre, status of urinary iod ine excretion (UIE) level and to estimate iodine content of salts at the household level. We surveyed 363 school ch ildren aged eight to ten years selected using a multistage clus ter sampling technique. We estimated goitre prevale nce and urinary iodine excretion (UIE) using methods and cr iteria recommended by the World Health Organization. We estimated the iodine content of salt samples collec ted from the households of the study subjects using spot iodine testing kit. Of the 363 children, 73 (20%) had goi tre. The median UIE was 160 µg/l (normal: ≥ 100 µg/l) and only 6% children had a level below 50 µg/l. Only 253 of 363 salt samples (70%) were sufficiently iodised. The combination of high goitre prevalence with normal median urinary excretion indicates that the North 24 Parganas district is in transition from iodine deficient to iodine sufficient state. However, the persistence of non-iodised salt consumption indicates that an intensification of un iversal salt iodisation program is needed.