Assessment of the Iodine Status Among Iranian School-aged Children 20 Years After the First National Survey in Iran

In 1994, the mandatory iodized salt consumption became a law in Iran, and since then, almost all people have routinely and effectively received iodine. This study aimed to compare the iodine sufficiency among Iranian students in 1996 and 2017. We used Iran’s health ministry national data on urinary iodine among 8- to 10-year-old students. A total 13,389 and 2,917 urine samples were examined for monitoring in 2017 and 1996, respectively. The median urinary iodine (MUI) excretion of samples was 18.26 g/dL in 2017 and 20.5 g/dL in 1996. Based on the urinary iodine index (< 10 g/dL), 14.53% and 19.61% of students had iodine deficiency (ID) in 1996 and 2017, respectively, which mild, moderate, and severe insufficiency was 8.83%, 2.3%, and 3.43% in 1996 and 14.86%, 3.72% and 1.01% in 2017. So, the main achievement of this national program was the reduction in severe ID rate during these years (3.43% vs. 1.01%).