Evaluating iodine deficiency and goiter in hilly areas of District Poonch Azad Jammu Kashmir.

Background & objectives: Iodine deficiency is considered as a global challenge, even after decades of efforts to solve the issue. Our objective was to assess the iodine deficiency status and associated prevalence of goiter in population groups (school-age children and women) from rural areas of District Poonch, and to assess the determinants of iodine deficiency in the area.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in District Poonch Azad Jammu and Kashmir from 25 April 2022 to 30 June 2023. A total of 150 goiter patients from different villages of the District Poonch was included. Their urinary iodine concentration and goiter prevalence was assessed. Using palpation techniques, a trained and experienced public health officer assessed the presence of goiters based on WHO/ UNICEF/ICCIDD criteria. Descriptive statistics were computed for continuous variables and presented in frequency and percentage, based on the distributional characteristics of the data. chi-square was used to check association between socio-demographic factors and goiter. It was a HEC Project No.: 20-16988/NRPU/R&D/HEC/2021.

Results: Iodine status and associated goiter prevalence was high and 59.3% of them were severely iodine deficient. Within the district, the highest severe iodine deficiency was observed in 81.1% goiter patients of the Rawalakot subdivision, Hajira and Abbaspur subdivisions. Regarding goiter status 40% of the patients were classified with palpable-visible goiter and 56% were characterized with visible but nodular goiter.

Conclusion: Study showed that there was a severe iodine deficiency and associated goiter prevalence in the area. Policymakers should take actions for future to overcome iodine deficiency in future.