PESHAWAR, Oct 22: People have been urged to increase their iodine intake as its deficiency increases the risks of mental disorders and fertility-related problems, especially in women.
This was said by doctors speaking at a seminar here on Friday. Dr Mausam Khan, EDO, health, said: "Iodine-deficient women suffer more miscarriages, stillbirths and other pregnancy-related problems than iodine-sufficient women." He cited from a Unicef study. "Iodine consumption improves fertility in women," said Dr Khan.
There was a misconception that iodine was somehow being used for family planning, he said. He said that Unicef's report showed that iodine deficient children had lower immunity against infectious diseases besides causing a decrease in intelligence.
Among adults, lack of iodine resulted in thyroid deficiency and impaired mental functioning. People suffering from the disorder find it difficult to learn and even harder to motivate, and are slow in executing their work.
Iodine deficiency is one of the major micronutrient deficiencies affecting about 50 per cent of the country's population, he said, adding that it was turning into an epidemic in the Northern Areas, where 68 per cent of youths suffer from goitre (abnormal enlargement of thyroid gland).
Baltistan, Skardu and Gilgit in the Northern Areas, Malakand and Hazara division of the NWFP, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northern parts of Punjab are reportedly among the world's most severely endemic areas, he quoted from the report.
He said that the Universal Salt Iodization (USI) programme was launched in 1994 in Pakistan. About 18,000 women health workers were trained to counter the disorder, he said.
The disorder affects 450,000 people in the Frontier province. "The annual incidence of abortions in the NWFP is about 14,000 while there are 8,000 premature deliveries. This is mainly because of the non-utilisation of iodized salt", he said.
He said that the government was providing iodine to the 22 salt dealers in Peshawar free of cost to provide iodised salt to the consumers. Furthermore, he said, training was also being imparted to salt processors.
