Factors influencing the iodine status of children aged 12 to 59 months from Jaffna District, Sri Lanka in the post-iodization era; a descriptive, cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Iodine status, including Iodine Deficiency (ID) of the children aged 12–59 months of Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, have never been studied. This study thus aimed to assess ID among children aged 12–59 months by monitoring the Urinary Iodine Concentrations (UIC), the prevalence of goitre, and the factors causing ID. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 846 children aged 12–59 months in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. Sociodemographic characteristics and other factors were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Dietary pattern of children was obtained using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. We performed urinary iodine estimation and physical examinations to detect the goitre, according to the World Health Organization criteria. A multivariate logistic linear regression model was used to identify the factors that causing ID. RESULT: The median UIC was 146.4 μg/L (interquartile range = 112.6–185.3 μg/L). Based on the UIC (<100 μg/L), 17.8% had ID, of which 15.7% and 2.1% had mild and moderate ID. The mean consumption of iodine from food was 128.7 (±20.2) μg/day. Gender variation had no influence on ID (p>0.05). Median UIC was significantly associated with living area, wealth status, type of drinking water, and method of iodized salt usage. A higher percentage of ID was significantly associated with younger age [AOR 2.32 (95% CI: 1.31–4.10)], urban area [AOR 1.94 (95% CI 1.27–2.96)], inland regions [AOR 3.20 (95% CI 1.85–5.55)], improper method of iodized salt usage [AOR 3.63 (95% CI: 1.38–9.56)], and low consumption of iodine-containing foods. The neck palpation revealed that only three children had goitre (0.4%). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that high ID among the children in Jaffna children was due to improper usage of iodized salt, even though the iodized salt is freely available in the region, living area, and age, while the prevalence of goitre was not significantly identified as a public health problem.