Impacto de las acciones para la eliminación sostenible de la deficiencia de yodo en Cuba

C. Blanca Terry-Berro; Ibrahim Quintana-Jardines; Maytell de la Paz-Luna; Julieta García; Raúl Fernández-Bohórquez; Denise Silvera-Téllez; Yoandry Díaz-Fuentes; Ana Ferret-Martínez; Denia Reyes-Fernández

doi:10.17843/rpmesp.2014.311.4

Authors

C. Blanca Terry-Berro Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. Especialista en Higiene y Epidemiología, maestra en Ciencias en Salud Ambiental.
Ibrahim Quintana-Jardines Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. especialista de I grado en Higiene y Epidemiología.
Maytell de la Paz-Luna Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. especialista de I grado en Higiene y Epidemiología.
Julieta García Servicio de Endocrinología, Hospital Pediátrico de Santa Clara. Santa Clara, Cuba. especialista en Endocrinología.
Raúl Fernández-Bohórquez Servicio de Radiología, Hospital Clínico Quirúrgico Calixto García. La Habana, Cuba. especialista en Radiología.
Denise Silvera-Téllez Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. licenciado en alimentos
Yoandry Díaz-Fuentes Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. licenciado en enfermería.
Ana Ferret-Martínez Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. licenciado en alimentos.
Denia Reyes-Fernández Instituto de Nutrición e Higiene de los Alimentos. La Habana, Cuba. técnico de laboratorio.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2014.311.4

Keywords:

Iodine deficiency, Goiter, endemic, National health programs, Health evaluation

Abstract

Objectives. To assess the effectiveness of the Sustainable Elimination of Iodine Deficiency Program through determination of urinary iodine and goiter prevalence. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Cuban school children aged 6 to 11 years old in 2011-2012. A stratified multistage sample was used in which the levels of iodine excretion in urine (urinary iodine) and the presence of goiter were determined. Results. The median urinary iodine was 176.3 µg/L; 7.6% of the students showed some deficiency of iodine, only 2.2% were below 50 µg/L (severe deficiency), and 15.3% had urinary iodine above 300 µg/L. The percentage of school children with optimal iodine nutrition was 43.5%, this category showed a significantly higher frequency (p=0.03) in the mountain areas (52.5%). Goiter prevalence was 17.6% which corresponds to a mild endemic. However, in the mountain area the prevalence was 32.6% (severe endemic). Conclusions. The comprehensive analysis of the impact of iodine deficiency control measures assessed by urinary iodine excretion and goiter prevalence reflects that it is no longer a population health problem in urban and rural areas of Cuba, attributable to a proper process of salt iodization. Nevertheless, high goiter prevalence is still observed in the mountain area of Cuba.