Dietary intake and iodine deficiency in women of childbearing age in an Orang Asli community close to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Prevalence of iodine deficiency disorder Amongst Orang Asli in Hulu Selangor, Malaysia

“…The median UIC of Orang Asli from the remote areas of Pahang was between 15 -35 µg/L (Osman et al, 1994) and 16.6 µg/L (Zaleha et al, 1998) while that from the remote village in Kedah was 16.5 µg/L (Zaleha et al, 1995). In another study, despite the proximity of the village to Kuala Lumpur, the median UIC of Orang Asli was 14.5 µg/L (Cuthbertson et al, 2000a). Although there has been a slight improvement when compared to other studies conducted over the past 2 decades we do not think this is significant.…”

“…Majority still rely on locally produced food sources which are low in iodine due to environmental conditions and there is also a low intake of seafood. (Cuthbertson et al, 2000a;Zaleha et al, 1998). Orang Asli is one of the impoverished groups in the country and there is still a high incidence of poverty when compared to the general population.…”

“…A study carried out in a small town of Hulu Selangor (Noor Hayaati et al, 1999) also reported high prevalence of goitre ranging between 58.2 -82.3%. Similarly, Cuthbertson et al (2000a) found that the median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) amongst the adult women Orang Asli in a village located 46 km far from Kuala Lumpur was 14.5 µg/L: it falls under the category of severe IDD. Over the last 2 decades, Malaysia has undergone major socio-economic changes that have led to significant improvement in the health of its general population; at the same time, the national IDD survey in 2008 revealed pockets of IDD in both rural and urban areas in Peninsular Malaysia (Wan Nazaimoon and Rusidah, 2010).…”

Evaluation of iodine levels in the Riverina population

“…The study group was spread over a diverse area, and thus this study attempted to ascertain whether geographical differences were apparent. Such differences have been demonstrated elsewhere in Malaysia and Denmark, and also in Tasmania 10–12 . Because of the small numbers of subjects from individual towns, it is difficult to draw geographical conclusions; however, there appeared to be substantial variation in the MUIC between the towns.…”

“…This may be attributed to either inadequate quantities of salt being used or that iodine had been lost from the salt. Iodine losses during transportation, storage and cooking have been reported; 11 it is also possible that salt is not being sufficiently iodised at the manufacturing level. This has been a significant problem for overseas iodisation programs, 20 and attempts to minimise this occurrence, which have included legislation, regulation and monitoring, have often failed.…”