The prevalence of endemic goitre among Penans of the Baram.

Two hundred and thirty three Penan households from the Silat area, Ulu Baram and the Tutoh of the Fourth Division, Sarawak, were studied with regards to the prevalence of endemic goitre and the consumption of iodised salt. Of the 343 Penan women aged 15 years and above who were examined, 60.6% had goitres. The serious nature of this, in the case of the Penans, is indicated by the fact that 39.3% ofadult men have goitres. For both sexes, the remote SilatPenans had the highest rate of goitre prevalence, followed by those from the less inaccessible Ulu Baram, while the more accessible Tutoh had the lowest rates. Only 10.7% of the Penan households interviewed consumed iodised salt, while the majority (73.0%) used rock salt indicating that there was a need to revise legislation to require the iodization of all forms of salt including rock salt.