Authors: K Uma Maheswari, R Saravanan, M. Somasundaram, J Vaishnavi
Iodine is an essential micronutrient in the thyroid hormone synthesis, hence inadequate or excess iodine may result in thyroid dysfunction. Hence the dietary iodine intake has to be monitored regularly for the recommended levels. With other confounding factors in dietary source, salt fortification with iodine was implemented by World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 1993. Inspite of Universal Salt Iodization (USI), Hypothyroidism is believed to be a common health issue in India and Worldwide. Hence this study was done on a small scale primarily by estimating the salt iodine content of commercially available consumable salts. Salt packets were collected from the retail shops in and around Madhuranthagam. The iodine content in the salt samples was estimated and expressed in parts per mllion (p.p.m) based on the Titration method recommended by WHO. The results were analysed by the number of samples (in percentage) with adequate, less and excess iodine content as per the WHO recommendation. Keywords: Consumable salt iodine, Iodine status, Thyroid dysfunction, Hypothyroidism, Universal salt iodization (USI).
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