Estimating the Health and Economic Benefits of Universal Salt Iodization Programs to Correct Iodine Deficiency Disorders.

ABSTRACT: Background: There has been tremendous progress over the past 25 years to control iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) through universal salt iodization (USI). In 2019, using the median urinary iodine concentration (MUIC), only 19 countries in the world are classified as iodine deficient; in contrast in 1993, using the total goiter rate (TGR), 113 countries were classified as iodine deficient. However, few analyses have tried to quantify the global health and economic benefits of USI programs, and the shift from TGR to MUIC as the main indicator of IDDs complicates assessment of progress. Methods: We used a novel approach to estimate the impact of USI on IDDs, applying a regression model derived from observational data on the relationship between the TGR and the MU

SUBMITTER: Gorstein JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7757618 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature