Analysis on change in iodine concentration in salt at households in Jiangsu province

  Objective   To examine the change in salt iodine concentration at households and to afford basic statistics for government decision-making.

  Methods   To analyze data on iodine concentration collected in biennial survey of iodine deficiency disorders(IDD)from 1997 to 2002 in Jiangsu province.

  Results   The coverage rate and adequacy rate of household iodized salt rose from 90.8%、65.5% in 1997 to 97.9%、96.3% in 2002, respectively.Mean concentration of iodine in salt dropped from(48.51±24.24)mg/kg in 1997 to(32.65±5.94)mg/kg in 2002.The number of areas where coverage rate and adequacy rate of iodized salt were all above 90% increased over the period of 1997 to 2002.

  Conclusion   Implementation of universal salt iodization was potentially sustainable.It was advised that amount of iodine added to salt in mild IDD areas could be reduced to be(30±5)mg/kg while still meeting the requirements.