Kassim, IA;
Moloney, G;
Busili, A;
Nur, AY;
Paron, P;
Jooste, P;
Gadain, H;
(2014)
Iodine Intake in Somalia Is Excessive and Associated with the Source of Household Drinking Water.
J Nutr
, 144
(3)
pp. 375-381.
10.3945/jn.113.176693.
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Abstract
Few data on iodine status in Somalia are available, but it is assumed that deficiency is a public health problem due to the limited access to iodized salt. We aimed to describe the iodine status of the population of Somalia and to investigate possible determinants of iodine status. A national 2-stage, stratified household cluster survey was conducted in 2009 in the Northwest, Northeast, and South Central Zones of Somalia. Urinary iodine concentration (UIC) was determined in samples from women (aged 15-45 y) and children (aged 6-11 y), and examination for visible goiter was performed in the Northwest and South Central strata. A 24-h household food-frequency questionnaire was conducted, and salt samples were tested for iodization. The median UICs for nonpregnant women and children were 329 and 416 μg/L, respectively, indicating excessive iodine intake (>300 μg/L). The prevalence of visible goiter was <4%. The coverage of salt iodization was low, with a national average of 7.7% (95% CI: 3.2%, 17.4%). Spatial analysis revealed localized areas of relatively high and low iodine status. Variations could not be explained by food consumption or salt iodization but were associated with the main source of household drinking water, with consumers of borehole water having a higher UIC (569 vs. 385 μg/L; P < 0.001). Iodine intake in Somalia is among the highest in the world and excessive according to WHO criteria. Further work is required to investigate the geochemistry and safety of groundwater sources in Somalia and the impact on human nutrition and health.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Iodine Intake in Somalia Is Excessive and Associated with the Source of Household Drinking Water. |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3945/jn.113.176693 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/jn.113.176693 |
| Additional information: | © 2014 American Society for Nutrition. This is a free access article, distributed under terms (http://www. nutrition.org/publications/guidelines-and-policies/license/) that permit unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute for Global Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1418851 |
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