Goitre in school girls of the Mewat area of Haryana.

A survey was carried out on 5449 school girls aged 10-16 years in the Mewat area of Haryana for goitre. The overall prevalence of goitre was nearly 29.5%. Thus goitre was a public health problem in the region. Analysis of the water sources in the study population used for drinking and cooking purposes revealed low iodine content, high mineral contents (calcium, magnesium, flouride and chloride), total hardness of water as well as bacterial pollution. These factors were related to the high prevalence rate.