Anemia, Iron Deficiency and Iodine Deficiency among Nepalese School Children

Abstract

Iron deficiency and anemia are common in Nepalese children, whereas, iodine nutrition is more than adequate. Low urinary iodine excretion was common in iron deficiency and anemia.

Iodine and Thyroid Function Status, and Anti-thyroid Peroxidase Antibody among Pregnant Women in Eastern Nepal

“…There are limited data on iodine status during pregnancy in Nepal, however, in school children there has been continuous improvement in iodine nutrition. 1,[8][9][10][11] In one study, Schulze et al observed mild iodine deficiency in pregnant and lactating women of rural southern plains (Terai region) of Nepal. 13 In a study in India, median UIC was 203 μg/L and 211 μg/L at 17 and 34 weeks of pregnancy respectively, whereas in another study, median (range) UIC in the first, second, and third trimesters was 285 μg/L (102-457), 318 μg/L (102-805), and 304 μg/L (172-859) respectively.…”

“…17 Universal salt iodization has been the most common strategy of eliminating iodine deficiency in landlocked countries, and this been successful in Nepal with increasing number of households consuming adequately iodized salt and median UIC among school children is rising. 1,19 Thyroid dysfunction has been observed as the most frequent endocrine disorder in pregnant women. 5 We observed thyroid dysfunction in 19 (20.65%) pregnant women and the most common dysfunction was subclinical hypothyroidism (18,19.56%) when the upper normal cutoff value for TSH was taken 6.16 mIU/L.…”

Iron Deficiency in India

“…This community based study reported 34.5 % and 43.4 % school children (age: 6-13 y) to have anemia and iron deficiency, respectively [1].…”

“…Khatiwada et al evaluated the prevalence of IDA in children in eastern Nepal [1]. This community based study reported 34.5 % and 43.4 % school children (age: 6-13 y) to have anemia and iron deficiency, respectively [1].…”

Thyroid function and thyroglobulin level in iodine deficient children of eastern Nepal

“…Nepal has been continuously improving iodine nutrition after starting universal salt iodization program. A number of studies particularly in eastern Nepal show promising results in improvement of iodine deficiency as revealed by increase in median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) of school children [6][7][8]. However, there are also concerns about excess iodine intake in such population [9].…”