Iodine Deficiency Disorder in Rural Population: A Community based Observational Study on Prevalence in Coastal Area of Tamil Nadu State, South India. Vasudevan Senthilvel1,*, Priyankaraj CK2, Senthilvel Sumathi3, Sureshbabu Jayanthi4 1Assistant Professor, HOD, Department of Biostatistics, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS-Ponekkara, Kochi, Kerala 2Associate Professor, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Oman Medical College, Sohar, Sultanate of Oman 3Assistant Professor in Nursing, Amrita College of Nursing, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS-Ponekkara, Kochi, Kerala 4Formerly Tutor in Medical Entomology, Department of Community Medicine, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalapet, Pondicherry *Corresponding Author: Dr. Senthilvel Vasudevan, Assistant Professor-Cum-HOD in-charge in Biostatistics, Department of Biostatistics, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, AIMS-Ponekkara, Kochi, Kerala-682041 Mobile No: 9387651050 Email ID: senthilvel@aims.amrita.edu
Online published on 5 May, 2018. Abstract Background and Objectives Iodine is an essential micronutrient needed for normal human growth and brain development. Methods and Study design A community based observational study was done in Anichakuppam, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, South India in the year of 2012 with a sample of 2830 individuals from 1233 households. Eight villages were randomly selected and data were collected by house-to-house survey. All age groups were included with an exclusion of <2 years in this present study. Results In the present study, overall goiter prevalence was 8% of which the visible goiter rate was 2.6%. The prevalence of goiter is more in the lower socio-economic group, higher prevalence was found in females as compared to males’ population. Conclusion We have concluded that the prevalence of goiter would be reduced by consuming mineral water for drinking purpose and by a program of distribution of iodized salt has been initiated to eliminate goiter problem. Top Keywords Iodine deficiency disorder, rural population, prevalence, goiter, source of water. Top |