Assessment of iodine nutritional status of people in Qinghai Province after the content of salt iodine decreased

Objective To understand the iodine nutritional status of people in Qinghai Province after implementation of new standard of salt iodine, and provide the basic data for prevention and control of iodine deficiency disorders. Methods The monitoring data of 2011 and 2014 were compared, and the changes of the coverage rate of iodized salt, the rate of qualified iodized salt consumption, the median of salt iodine and urine iodine, goiter rate of school children aged 8-10 and the urine iodine level of pregnant women were evaluated. Results The median of salt iodine in 2011 and 2014 was 31.7 and 26.2 mg/kg, respectively, the difference was statistically significant (H = 533.772, P 0.05). The median of urinary iodine of school children aged 8-10 in 2011 and 2014 was 217.2 and 209.4 μg/L, respectively, the difference was statistically not significant (H = 1.270, P > 0.05); the median of urinary iodine of pregnant women in 2011 and 2014 was 200.0 and 133.2 μg/L, the difference was statistically significant (H = 36.639, P < 0.05). Conclusions With decreasing of salt iodine level, the level of urinary iodine among children is appropriate, while there is an iodine deficiency risk among the pregnant women. The main influence factor may be decreased consumption of qualified iodized salt. Key words: Salt; Iodine; Child; Pregnant women