Abstract

Urinary iodine excretion is a good marker for the dietary intake of iodine, and is the index for evaluating the degree of iodine deficiency, correction and toxicity. A study, investigating the random urinary iodine level in school children in Ibadan, a South-Western cosmopolitan city of Nigeria, has not been evaluated, thus the emanation of this study. Random urinary iodine was measured in 300 primary school children in Ibadan after obtaining their consent. The urinary iodine level was measured using the standard method of ammonium persulphate reaction. Classifying the urinary iodine level obtained based on World Health Organization (WHO), United Nation’s International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) recommendation, it was found that 15 (5%) had moderate iodine deficiency, 15 (5%) had mild iodine deficiency, 69 (23%) fell into the sufficient group and 201 (67%) fell into the excess group, with urinary iodine level greater than 300 µg/L. This study infers that if this trend continues unmonitored, the entire population could be prone to developing iodine induced hyperthyroidism (IIH) with the associated toxicity.

Key words: Iodine, hyperthyroidism, iodine deficiency disorders, Iodine induced hyperthyroidism.