Goiter prevalence, urinary iodine, and salt iodization level in sub-Himalayan Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India

National iodine deficiency disorders control program needs to be continuously monitored. Hence, a cross-sectional study was conducted during the period from April-May 2011 to assess the prevalence of goiter, status of urinary iodine excretion (UIE) level and to estimate iodine content of salts at the household level in Darjeeling district, West Bengal. Study subjects were 2400 school children, aged 8-10 years selected through "30 cluster" sampling methodology. Goiter was assessed by standard palpation technique, UIE was estimated by wet digestion method and salt samples were tested by spot iodine testing kit. Overall goiter prevalence rate was 8.7% (95% confidence intervals = 7.6-9.8) and goiter prevalence was significantly different with respect to gender. Median UIE level was 15.6 mcg/dL (normal range: 10-20 mcg/dL). About 92.6% of the salt samples tested had adequate iodine content of ≥15 ppm. Findings of the present study indicate that the district is in a transition phase from iodine-deficiency to iodine sufficiency