The problem of iodine deficiency is extremely important and relevant for many countries. More than 1 billion inhabitants of the earth live in places with a low iodine content in the biosphere (water, soil, air, food).

As a result of this insufficiency, 200 million people have an increase in the thyroid gland (endemic goiter), 20 million have mental retardation amid a deficiency of thyroid hormones.

It was found that high prevalence of endemic goiter among schoolchildren leads to a decrease in cognitive abilities by 15 percent. According to the conclusion of the World Health Organization, overcoming this problem could be the most significant achievement of world health, surpassing in importance the eradication of smallpox on the globe.

What is the situation in Russia? This was told by the endocrinologist of the polyclinic department of the Novosibirsk Institute of Therapy of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Elena Ivakina.

According to medical statistics, now the actual average consumption of iodine by a resident of Russia is 40-80 mcg per day at a rate of 150-200 mcg. In the conditions of such a deficiency of the microelement the thyroid gland uses the small amount of iodine that is present in the body. At the same time she has to work several times more intensively and faster, so the volume of the gland increases, there is a goiter.

In Russia, iodine deficiency in nature is one of the main environmental problems, since almost all of its territory is endemic in goiter. The disease occurs on average in 10-15 percent of the urban population of the Russian Federation. At the same time, our industry meets the need for iodized salt by no more than 30 percent, and the recommendations of the World Health Organization on the general iodization of edible salt for the elimination of deficits are being introduced with great difficulty.

In the 1920s and 1960s, the high-quality prevention of iodine deficiency in the USSR reduced attention to the problem. Since the early 1970s, it has ceased to be one of the most important tasks of health care, which in recent decades has led to a significant increase in the prevalence, severity of the goiter epidemic and the emergence of new features of its course.

But this problem can be affected. To prevent the consequences of iodine deficiency, the following are used: mass prophylaxis: iodine enrichment of widely consumed foods; group prophylaxis: the administration of iodine to those who have a special need for iodine (especially children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women), as well as individual prophylaxis: iodine medication at a dose corresponding to the daily physiological need of a person, after consulting a doctor.

sportzal. com.