Objective: To understand the level of urinary iodine and iodine content of salt among school children aged 8 to 10 years in Yuhuan County, Zhejiang Province.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a primary school of Yuhuan County purposely selected in 2012. Totally, 450 children aged 8 to 10 years were involved by the cluster-stratified sampling. All subjects received a free physical examination and morning urine and salt using in the household were collected. Urinary iodine and the iodine content of salt the children were tested.
Results: Totally, 449 of 450 children provided the morning urine enough to be tested. The median of children's urinary iodine was 114.0 microg/L, and the proportions of them with the urinal iodine < 50 microg/L, < 100 microg/L and > or = 300 microg/L were 4.4%, 37.9% and 2.7%, respectively. Among 447 salt samples collected, the median of iodine content was 0.0 mg/kg. The coverage rate of iodized salt was 27.3%, the qualified rate of iodized salt was 92.6%, and the intake rate of qualified iodized salt was 25.3%. The median of urinary iodine of children with iodized salt was significantly higher than that of those without iodized salt (Z = 3.47, P = 0.001).
Conclusion: Current nutritional status of iodine is overall proper and safety in the population of school children aged 8-10 years old in Yuhuan County.