P L Jooste1, N Upson, K E Charlton. 1. Divison of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. pieter.jooste@mrc.ac.za
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the level of knowledge regarding iodine nutrition and its relationship with socio-economic status in the South African population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional population survey collecting questionnaire information on knowledge of iodine nutrition and sociodemographic variables in a multistage, stratified, cluster study sample, representative of the adult South African population. SETTING: Home visits and personal interviews in the language of the respondent. SUBJECTS: Data were collected from one adult in each of the selected 2164 households, and the participation rate was 98%. RESULTS: Only 15.4% of respondents correctly identified iodised salt as the primary dietary source of iodine, 16.2% knew the thyroid gland needs iodine for its functioning, and a mere 3.9% considered brain damage, and 0.8% considered cretinism, as the most important health consequence of iodine deficiency. Compared with respondents from high socio-economic households, respondents from low socio-economic households were considerably less informed about aspects of iodine nutrition covered in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge level of iodine nutrition is low among South Africans, particularly among the low socio-economic groups. These data suggest that the international emphasis on brain damage resulting from iodine deficiency has not been conveyed successfully to the consumer level in this country.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the level of knowledge regarding iodine nutrition and its relationship with socio-economic status in the South African population. DESIGN: A cross-sectional population survey collecting questionnaire information on knowledge of iodine nutrition and sociodemographic variables in a multistage, stratified, cluster study sample, representative of the adult South African population. SETTING: Home visits and personal interviews in the language of the respondent. SUBJECTS: Data were collected from one adult in each of the selected 2164 households, and the participation rate was 98%. RESULTS: Only 15.4% of respondents correctly identified iodised salt as the primary dietary source of iodine, 16.2% knew the thyroid gland needs iodine for its functioning, and a mere 3.9% considered brain damage, and 0.8% considered cretinism, as the most important health consequence of iodine deficiency. Compared with respondents from high socio-economic households, respondents from low socio-economic households were considerably less informed about aspects of iodine nutrition covered in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge level of iodine nutrition is low among South Africans, particularly among the low socio-economic groups. These data suggest that the international emphasis on brain damage resulting from iodine deficiency has not been conveyed successfully to the consumer level in this country.
Authors: Lisa Garnweidner-Holme; Inger Aakre; Anne Marie Lilleengen; Anne Lise Brantsæter; Sigrun Henjum Journal: Nutrients Date: 2017-05-13 Impact factor: 5.717
Authors: Georgios Marakis; Antonios Katsioulis; Lamprini Kontopoulou; Anke Ehlers; Katharina Heimberg; Karen Ildico Hirsch-Ernst; Tomaž Langerholc; Hanna Adamska; Ewa Matyjaszczyk; K D Renuka Silva; K A Chathurika Madumali; Tai-Sheng Yeh; Ling-Jan Chiou; Mei-Jen Lin; Georgios Karpetas; Anke Weissenborn Journal: Arch Public Health Date: 2021-05-04