Iodine deficiency disorder and its correlates among antenatal care service users from Northwest Ethiopia: Evidence from Lai-Gayint District

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Iodine deficiency in pregnant and lactating women results in serious damage to their fetuses, newborns, and infants. The effect of dietary iodine intake on maternal and infantile thyroid function has not been well studied, and there are few data on appropriate gestational age-specific reference ranges for urinary iodine excretion during pregnancy and lactation.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to assess the magnitude of iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) and its associated factors among antenatal care users.

Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 pregnant women attending antenatal care from six randomly selected public health centers in Lai-Gayint Woreda, Northwest Ethiopia in 2013. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the important information and Physical examination for thyroid enlargement was done and urine samples were taken for urinary iodine excretion (UIE) from all study subjects. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Result: Both Bivariate and Multivariate analysis were done to identify the factors associated with IDD. The overall prevalence of iodine deficiency disorder based on total goiter rate and UIE less than 150µg/L was 36.6% and 61.4%, respectively with a median UIE of 110µg/L. Among the various factors identified, place of urban residency (AOR=0.53; 95%CI=0.29-0.99), being employed (AOR=0.39; 95%CI: 0.24-0.67), having miscarriage at least once in the previous history of pregnancy (AOR=3.34; 95%CI: 1.44-7.76), consumption of iodized salt (AOR=0.27; 95%CI: 0.09-0.86), having knowledge on IDD prevention (AOR=0.39; 95%CI: 0.16-0.81), having family history of goiter (AOR=4.7; 95%CI: 2.3-9.7) and gestational period of first trimester (AOR=0.7; 95%CI=0.5-0.98) were found significantly and independently associated with iodine deficiency disorder.

Conclusion: The magnitude of IDD and its associated factors in the district which could provide helpful insights for policy makers and program implementers are highlighted. Thus, an immediate effective intervention that includes nutrition education and regular administration of iodine are recommended. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2013;27(3):208-215]