Do salt storage practices affect the iodine content of salt? -A school-based study in North India

Abstract

Introduction: In  India,  IDD  has  been  identified  as  a public  health  problem.  At  present  best  source  for  iodine supplementation is iodinated salt in the form of "Iodised Salt" containing potassium iodide (KI) and "Iodated Salt" containing potassium iodate (KIO3). Objectives: To find out salt storage practices in the houses and association of storage practices and iodine content. Methods: From 1st to 5th standard children (age group 6–12 years) were the “sampling units.” The required sample was selected by “Multistage sampling” by doing a sub-sampling. The sample size (N) calculated was 879. However, a total of 950 participants were included in the study. To check on spot  salt  storage  practices,  70  families  of  school  children  were  visited.  The  iodine  content  of  salt  samples  was tested with spot testing kit (STK). Results: Out of 950 students, most of them (92.1%) used to take powdered salt. Out of 915 salt samples, collected, 79.0% samples were iodized and only 16.1% of salt samples had >15 ppm iodine content. Salt was kept in containers in 36 (51.4%) houses, but only 6 (8.7%) families were using airtight containers. The  percentage  of  nil  iodine  was  highest  in  open  packets  (35.7%).  As  the  distance  of  salt  storage  from  chullah increased, the level of iodine content was also improved. Conclusion: School children and their families should be  told  about  the  importance  of  taking  adequately  iodized  salt  and  to  follow  correct  salt  storage  practices. Sustained IEC activities should be carried out more vigorously to sen sitize the students and community.