SOIL IODINE, URINARY IODINE AND THYROID HORMONE PROFILING OF ETHNIC POPULATION OF EASTERN HIMALAYAN RANGE OF INDIA
Author(s): Trisha Sonowal, Jatin Sarmah*, Manab Deka and Paresh Kumar Sarma
Abstract
This study was undertaken among two ethnic races living in rural, hilly terrain of Eastern Himalayan range with the hypothesis that depleted soil iodine content may be the cause of thyroid disorder in the tribal population. The study randomly selected individuals out of which 49.8% are male and 50.2% are female ranging from 10 to 90 years. Method: The iodine content in soil and urinary iodine content (UIC) was analyzed along with anti-TPO antibody (anti-TPO Ab) assay and thyroid profiling. Soil and UIC were determined by arsenic cerium catalytic spectrophotometry method by Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. The anti-TPO Ab was determined using Electrochemiilluminiscence immunoassay analyzer. Thyroid hormone analysis was carried out by chemiluminescence assay. Results: The average value of soil iodine content was 2.89 mg kg-1. The median UIC was 111.78 µg/l. Incidence of thyroid disorder was found to be 27.09 %. The distribution of hypothyroid and hyperthyroid was 24.85% and 2.35% respectively in the studied population out of which 66.4% were female are 33.57% male. 12 % of population showed high anti- TPO Ab which may be a cause of thyroid disorder. A negative correlation was observed between UIC and anti- TPO Ab (r=-0.078, P=?0.05) Conclusion: The work is an attempt to demonstrate how the soil iodine status influences thyroid functioning among the under-represented ethnic population of Eastern Himalayas which is manifested as high prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) with iodine deficiency. The work underscores region specific recommendation on iodine supplementation for populations living in geographically remote locations.