Objectives
To assess the prevalence and severity of Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) among Filipino pregnant and lactating women and the elderly, twenty years after implementation of Universal Salt Iodization (USI) in 1995.
Methods
Mid-stream casual urine samples were collected from pregnant and lactating women and elderly of selected households of the 2003, 2008 and 2013 National Nutrition Survey (NNS). Urinary iodine excretion (UIE) levels were determined based on the digestion method of Dunn et al. Iodine levels in household salt was determined by WYG. UIE and salt iodine levels in the 2013 NNS was compared with levels in previous NNSs.
Results
The 2013 NNS showed that among pregnant women, median UIE was 105 ug/L with 27% < 50ug/L, indicating iodine deficiency. In 2003 and 2008, median UIE was 142 ug/L and 105 ug/L also indicating IDD. Among the lactating women, UIE was 111 ug/L in 2003 indicating iodine sufficiency, but decreased to 81 ug/L and 77 ug/L in 2008 and 2013 NNS respectively, indicating mild iodine deficiency. UIE was 107 ug/L among the elderly in 2008, but decreased to 80 ug/L in 2013 also indicating "mild iodine deficiency". Levels of iodine in household salt were 5.3 ppm and 5.6 ppm in the 2008 and 2013 NNS. Only 25.7 % of households had adequately iodized salt.
Conclusions
Twenty years after implementation of USI, Filipino pregnant and lactating women and the elderly remains to be iodine deficient. Strict monitoring of iodization of salt at the production site should be implemented.
