Assessing the trend of iodine deficiency among antenatal patients of the university of Port Harcourt teaching hospital

Osita Celestine John *, Ochuko Avwebo Otoide 1 and Solace Amechi Omoruyi

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
 
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2022, 07(01), 123–129.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2022.7.1.0179
Publication history: 
Received on 24 July 2022; revised on 04 September 2022; accepted on 06 September 2022
 
Abstract: 
Background: Iodine deficiency is a global health problem of public health significance; it is the leading cause of preventable neurodevelopmental impairment in children globally. This deficiency can occur in pregnancy leading to various degree of morbidity.
Aims and objective: This study was aimed at determining the pattern and severity of iodine deficiency amongst pregnant women in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
Methodology: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional comparative study that measured the urinary iodine concentration in two subgroups of the population; pregnant women and non- pregnant women of reproductive age. Structured questionnaires were administered to and urine samples were obtained from the participants. The urinary iodine concentration was measured using the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction. The data from the structured questionnaire was entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences 25.0 software package (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).
Results: The mean age for the pregnant study group was 32.15±5.2, the median and modal age was 31 years, with a range of 23 to 43 years.
Mild iodine deficiency was seen in 57.1% of the non-pregnant respondents and 34.4% of the pregnant respondents. Moderate iodine deficiency was seen in 42.9% of non-pregnant respondents and 56.2% of pregnant respondents. Severe Iodine deficiency was observed only among the pregnant respondents (9.4%)
The median urinary iodine concentration (Median UIC) among pregnant women was 42.87ug/l, while the median UIC among non-pregnant women was 52.33ug/l. A Mann-Whitney U test indicated that this difference was statistically significant, U (NPregnant=66, Nnon-pregnant =63) =1234.5, z= -3.98, p≤ 0.001).
Conclusion: This study found that iodine deficiency was prevalent among women in the study population (pregnant and non-pregnant women), however, it was more severe in pregnant women. Based on the results of our study there is an urgent need for iodine supplementation in our pregnant women.
 
Keywords: 
Iodine; Deficiency; Pregnancy; Port Harcourt
 
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