ESTIMATING THE IODINE CONTENT OF SALT BY IODOMETRIC TITRATION TEST IN THE RURAL AREAS OF SHIRAZ

Background and Aim: Iodine is a micronutrient element required for thyroid hormone production, and its inadequate intake can cause iodine deficiency disorders such as goiter. However, the fortification of the consuming salt with iodine is an effective, reliable and inexpensive way to ensure proper iodine use. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the iodine content of the salt in the rural areas of Shiraz.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1355 Salt samples from six villages around Shiraz were evaluated regarding their iodine content. The dieticians working at the rural comprehensive health centers tested the samples by iodometric titration test method. They also checked the data on the salt packages and asked questions about the time of seasoning the food with salt and the way of storing it.Results: At the time of the study, 1298 (95.79%) of the samples were iodised salt and 57 (4.20%) didn’t contain any iodine. Out of 1338 samples, whose packages were declared to have iodine, 29 were iodine-free. Further, when people were asked as regards the storing and using of salt, 358 (26.42%) didn’t have a proper way of storing it, and 143 (10.55%) didn’t know the proper time of adding salt to the food.Conclusion: The consumption of iodised salt is much higher than that of iodine-free salt, but unfortunately, most of the rural people do not store the salt properly and do not know the right time of adding salt to food.

کلیدواژه ها:

iodine ، iodized salt ، iodine content ، titration ، Shiraz ،