Intake and excretion of iodine and thiocyanate among school children in goiter endemic sub-Himalayan tarai region

The present study was undertaken to assess the state of iodine nutrition of the representative population, consumption pattern of cyanogenic plant food that generally interfere with iodine nutrition, and to evaluate whether there is any interrelation between iodine and thiocyanate intake and their excretion pattern among school children in goiter endemic subHimalayan tarai region. A total of 560 urine samples from school children, aged 6-12 years of both sexes were collected and analyzed for iodine (I) and thiocyanate (SCN) concentration. Median urinary iodine level was 76.2 μg/l and 32.3% had concentration <50μg/l indicating biochemical iodine deficiency. Mean urinary thiocyanate level was 0.762±0.45 mg/dl indicating relatively higher consumption of cyanogenic plant foods by the population. A significant positive correlation (r=0.13, P<0.01) between urinary iodine and urinary thiocyanate concentration suggests that there is an interrelationship between mean urinary iodine and thiocyanate excretion pattern of the population in the study region. Body’s overall thiocyanate concentration perhaps plays an important role to maintain the overall iodine concentration in the body. Therefore the urinary iodine may not always truly reflect the iodine nutrition status of the body.