Prevalence of Goiter and Associated Factors Among Primary School Children Aged 6-12 Years Old in Goba Town, South East, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: There are many reasons for children to underperform at school such as nutritional status, sociocultural environment and other environmental factors. Iodine deficiency disorder is the major cause of preventable brain damage in children resulting in academic underperformance. Although few studies have been conducted on goiter among primary school children in Ethiopia, the mountainous area like Goba town which experiences poor soil conservation over a long period of time and the leaching away of the iodine-rich soil, needs special concern. Objective: This study assessed the prevalence of goiter and its associated factors among school children in Goba town, southeastern Ethiopia. Methods: School based cross sectional study design was employed on study participants of 397 children in age groups of 6-12 years from four primary schools in Goba town with a 98.2% response rate. The study was conducted from April to May, 2012. A systematic sampling technique was applied to select children; Pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic variables of children and their parents. Selected students were examined for the presence of goiter and classified based on WHO recommendation. Salt test for iodine content was done using field fast salt test kit. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to see the effect of independent variables on the outcome variable (presence of goiter). Results: Out of 397 childern 209(52.6%) were females. The total goiter prevalence was 50.6 %{ 95% CI = (45.7, 55.6)} with grade 1 goiter having 33.5% {95% CI = (28.9, 38.4)} and grade 2 goiter having 17.1 %{ 95% CI = (13.6, 21.3)}. The goiter prevalence was found higher in females 112(53.6%) {95% CI = (46.6, 60.5)} than in males 89 (47.3%) {95 % CI = (40.0, 54.7)} though statistically insignificant in the studied school age children. The age of study subjects (AOR=1.86; 95% CI=1.10, 3.15) had significant association with goiter. With respect to salt consumption at home, for the study participants 110(27.7%) of children were given salt which had no iodine (0 ppm) and 169(42.6%) of them were given salt which contained medium level of salt (<15ppm) and the remaining 118(29.7%) were given sufficiently iodized salt. Conclusion: Prevalence of total goiter among school children is very high and it was higher in females than males. The salt test results showed that most households do not use sufficiently iodised salt.

Poor dietary diversity, wealth status and use of un-iodized salt are associated with goiter among school children: a cross-sectional study in Ethiopia

“…Similar to other reports elsewhere [13, 37], goiter was more prevalent among females in Dabat District. It is evident that females have a higher nutritional requirement for iodine, and reach to puberty earlier than males.…”

“…But, compared to other local studies, this finding was lower than the national average (39.9%) [9] and what was reported from Lay-Armachiho District (37.6%) [28] and Goba District (50.6%) [13]. This is probably related to improvement in ensuring the availability of iodized salt throughout the country [27].…”

“…Accordingly, age and sex of the child [13–15], larg famies [13], poor economic status [14], low maternal and paternal educational status [16–18], poor maternal knowledge about iodized salt [6, 16] and place of residence [19, 20] are significantly associated with ID. Furthermore, adding salt during food preparation [17], use of unpacked salt [21], storing salt for a longer duration, near to the fire, in open container, and exposing to heat and sunlight [14, 15] are found with increased odds of developing ID.…”

Prevalence of goiter and its associated factors among primary school children in Chole District, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia: a cross- sectional study

“…The sample size of the study was calculated using a single population proportion formula. It was calculated considering the proportion (P) of goiter among school children based on the finding from the similar study done previously in Goba town, Eastern Ethiopia which was 50.0% [28]. In addition, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 5% desired precision, and 10% contingency for the non response rate were considered during the sample size calculation.…”

“…Cognizant of the problem, the Government of Ethiopia had launched a five -year national plan to eradicate iodine deficiency and associated health problems by the year 2015 through the achievement of utilization of adequately iodized salt to 90% of the population in the country [10,12,23]. In addition, the Federal Ministry of Health designed a National Nutrition Program and Micronutrient Guideline, and endorsed a proclamation for ensuring the availability of iodized salt [12,24], though significant changes have not been attained and updated data are still scarce [10,24,27,28].…”