IODINE NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND GOITRE PREVALENCE IN CHILDREN AGED 2 - 14 YEARS IN SELECTED UPLAND AND RIVERINE COMMUNITIES IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

Background: Iodine deficiency is a common cause of thyroid disease, prompting the World Health Organisation to recommend universal salt iodification. The iodine status of Rivers State is yet to be investigated following the implementation of this strategy.

Objective: To determine and compare the iodine nutritional status of children aged 2-14 years resident in selected upland and riverine communities in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Method: A descriptive cross-sectional and comparative analysis of the iodine status of 545 children in randomly selected riverine and upland communities of Rivers State was conducted between June to July 2023. The differences in the proportion of (a) children that had above and below the median urinary iodine excretion, (b) thyroid gland volume, and (c) use of iodised salt intake, between the two communities were analysed.

Results: A total of 126 (23.1%) children in the study population had moderate to mild iodine deficiency, and 69 (54.8%) of these were in the upland group, while 107 (39.5%) children in riverine area had excess urinary iodine with risk, p = 0.001. In the riverine area, 96.31 % of the children consumed packaged iodised salt in their household as compared to 98.54% in the upland, p = 0.100. No child in the study population had overt goitre but 22% had larger thyroid volumes when compared to the Nigerian ultrasound scan reference.

Conclusions: This study shows goitre endemicity in the state, more prevalent in the riverine than the upland regions with the goitres not yet detectable by physical examination but by thyroid ultrasonography.