Abstract

VALEROBERNAL, María Victoria; FRANCOVEGA, Roberto; CHAVES, Angélica María  and  MONTERO, Juan Sebastián. Sanitary policy and current situation of Goiter Syndrome: Colombia Case. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2012, vol.60, n.4, pp.343-351. ISSN 0120-0011.

Iodine deficiency leads to many adverse effects concerning human health. Iodine deficiency has been considered the leading cause of preventable human disability; it has been estimated that more than 800 million of the world's population are at risk, 190 million are affected by goitre and more than 3 million may be suffering from cretinism. Endemic goitre is considered to be one of the disorders caused by iodine deficiency. Its continued high prevalence around the world has led to the WHO declaring it to be a public health problem for many decades now due to its direct impact on the health of vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women and schoolaged children, and its negative impact on the affected communities' development. Universal salt iodisation (USI) was adopted in Colombia as the main strategy for controlling such disorders; it was declared that they had been eliminated at the end of the last century. However, subsequent reports have shown that the prevalence of endemic goitre and iodine nutritional status (measured by determining urinary iodine in some areas of Colombia) requires the pertinent health authorities' attention due to the persistence of iodine deficiency disorders and the risk of thyroid disease caused by excessive iodine intake in some regions of Colombia.

Keywords : Iodine Deficiency; Goiter; Endemic; Health Policy; Thyroid Gland; Colombia; Prevalence.

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