Iodine content in edible salt and drinking water in sub-Himalayan tarai region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

Original Article Aims & Objectives : To evaluate distribution of iodine through edible salts and bioavailability of iodine in sub-Himalayan Tarai region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Methods & Design: The study has been conducted in all 14 Community development (CD) Blocks in the studied region. To measure the iodine content of salt and water samples ,a total of 490 edible salt samples and 112 drinking water samples were collected from 14 study areas taking 35 Salt sample and 8 water samples from each CD Block respectively. Results: The present study shows that 79.2% of salt samples had iodine level below 15ppm and 2.2% had no iodine,11.8% had iodine level above 15ppm but below 30ppm, whereas the mean iodine content in drinking water samples of the studied sub-Himalayan tarai region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh was 8.99±2.97 µg/l. Conclusion : Only 18.5% of households of the sub-Himalayan tarai region consume salts with recommended iodine level (>15ppm) and the rest 81.5% households consume salt with inadequate iodine level (<15ppm).Thus intake of iodine through edible salt is insufficient. The result of iodine content in drinking water shows that the studied region is moderately iodine deficient.