Epidemiological survey of goiter and iodine deficiency in Veneto region

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to determine goiter prevalence and urinary iodine excretion in the Veneto region. It is known since ancient times that goiter prevalence has affected mainly the mountainous areas in Italy. An extensive epidemiological survey was carried out in school-aged children, visiting 5,439 students and testing 1,883 urinary samples. A goiter prevalence of 8.8% was found in the Region; 7.7% of grade 1A and 1.1% of grade 1B respectively; in the pre-mountainous area the prevalence was higher than 10% (11.7% in the Treviso area and 12.7% in the Vicenza area). Urinary iodine excretion was less than 100 mcg/cr in about 45% of all examined children, with a peak of 20% under 50 mcg/cr in the Vicenza district. According to the WHO criteria, the goiter prevalence in the Veneto area can be considered under the limits of epidemic standards. Nevertheless we feel that in light of the urinary data a prophylaxis with iodine added salt should be recommended in any case.