ABSTRACT

Endemic goiter and iodine deficiency is an important public health problem among women of reproductive age. This study examined the prevalence of goitre among adult females aged 20-35 years in Awgu Local Government Area in Enugu State. The study was a cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 343 respondents. Data on socio-demographic/economic characteristics, food habit and dietary pattern and food frequency of the women were collected using structured and validated questionnaire. The IBM SPSS version 23.0 computer programme was used to analyze the data. Significant relationship was judged at p ≤ 0.05. Data obtained were described using frequency and percentage. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the socio-economic/demographic characteristics, dietary pattern and endemic goiter status of the respondents. Result from the study showed that most (43.1%) of the respondents were aged 20-24 years. Slightly more than half (51.6%) of the respondents are students. However, most (94.8%) of the respondents have heard of iodized salt while some (36.4%) heard it from the market. More than half (87.8%) of the respondents use salt packed in small packs in cooking while most (66.2%) of them choose their salt because of the health benefits. Additionally, majority (73.8%) of the respondents do not skip meals while some (30.6%) skip mostly breakfast. Majority (84.3% and 84.5%) of the respondents consume fruits and vegetables regularly. Prevalence of goiter through neck palpation and inspection revealed that most (83.4%) of the respondents do not have goiter while 16.6% had grade 1 goitre. Meanwhile, the iodine status of the women showed that majority (94.2%) of the respondents had optimal iodine status while few had more than adequate iodine status.  There was a significant negative relationship (p=-0.043) between urinary concentration of the respondents and parity. There was also a significant negative relationship (p=-0.043) between urinary iodine status of the respondents and the type of salt they use in cooking. The goitre prevalence in this study was 16.6% which is still a public health problem in the study area. This indicates the need for further strengthening of the existing salt iodization program in order to avail homogenously and adequately iodized salt. Also it is necessary to find ways to provide iodine supplements as needed until universal salt iodization (USI) is fully established. Meanwhile, further studies of the association between iodine excretion and biochemical and physiological changes in women should be undertaken to better understand women’s needs for iodine and to develop criteria to monitor them in pregnancy because of the potential harm caused by iodine deficiency during pregnancy.