An Investigation on Iodine Nutritional Status of Residents in Ningbo City

Objective To evaluate the current iodine nutritional status of the local inhabitants in Ningbo city.Methods A multi stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 3615 inhabitants aged among 6 to 70 years from 1685 families.Drinking water,diet salt and morning urine were collected to detect iodine content.Results Iodine content in drinking water samples were in the range of 0.51 ~ 9.26 μg / L,a median of 3.32 μg / L.The median of salt iodine was 27.20 mg / kg,the qualified iodized salt consumption rate was 71.57% and the rates in mountainous areas,plain areas and coastal areas were 76.27%,85.21% and 54.32%,respectively.The median of urinary iodine of the sample was 137.05 μg / L,the percentage less than 100 μg / L was 34.47%,and more than 300 μg / L was 12.84%,and the median urinary iodine in mountainous areas,plain areas and coastal areas were 166.52,140.89 and 111.46 μg / L,respectively.Conclusion Ningbo City belongs to an area with environmental iodine deficiency.The current iodine nutritional status of the inhabitants in Ningbo appears to be safe and suitable.However,as the consumption rate of qualified iodized salt proves to be low,some of the inhabitants have a risk of iodine deficiency.