[Epidemiological parameters in the evaluation of endemic goiter in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania].

Aim: To study the incidence of endemic goiter among urban and rural schoolchildren in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (RNO-Alania).

Subjects And Methods: 1198 urban (637 girls and 561 boys) and 227 rural (137 girls and 90 boys) adolescents aged 13-16 years were examined. All the adolescents underwent thyroid palpation. Thyroid ultrasound study (USS) was performed using an ALOKA SSD-500 scanner (Japan) with a 7.5-mHz transducer. Ioduria levels were measured by the cerium-arsenite method. Thyroid function was evaluated from the content of circulating hormones, such as total triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxin (free T4), and thyrotrophic hormone (TTH), by using the Alkor-Bio enzyme immunoassay kits.

Results: Varying degrees of iodine deficiency were found in the RNO-Alania. Median urban and rural ioduria was 52.1 and 60.7 microg/l, respectively; which corresponded to mild iodine deficiency. Analysis of the gender-specific findings revealed that moderate ioduria was identified in a larger number of girls and mild iodine excretion was detected in most boys. The rate of increased thyroid dimensions was also higher in the boys than in the girls in both the urban and rural areas. Examining the hormone profile revealed a euthyroid state in virtually all schoolchildren. The levels of TTH, free T4, and T3 did not exceed the normal range. The families consuming iodized salt were 46.2 and 47.7% in the urban and rural areas, respectively.

Conclusion: The findings allow one to give an additional insight into the specific features of formation of a goitrous endemic in the RNO-Alania and may serve as the basis for further investigations and development of pathogenetically sound approaches to treating and preventing iodine deficiency states.