PREVENTION OF IODINE-DEFICIENCY DISORDERS IN CHILDREN IN RURAL AFRICA

The effectiveness of iodinated silicone polymers placed in bore wells for combating goiter in children under 15 years of age was evaluated in two villages in Mali. Of the 581 included children, 367 did and 214 did not receive supplemental iodine. Overall, follow-up data at one year were available for 86 % of study subjects. At baseline, Goiter was present in 43.3 % of the children in the supplemental iodine group and in 69.2 % of controls. Stage G1B predominated in both sexes. After one year, 36 % of the goiters had resolved in the supplement group. Effectiveness of iodine supplementation was greater in young children with small goiters. Urinary iodine levels returned to normal by the third month. Iodine levels in the supplemented water remained above 50-mu-g/l throughout the year; daily intake of iodine was 50 to 100-mu-g. In the unsupplemented village, 21 new cases of goiter occurred, for an annual incidence of 40 %.