Iodine support for children in the south of the central Black sea region of Russia

A total of 1419 children aged 5-14 years living in 4 agricultural regions of the Central Russia (in Southern Belgorod and Central Western Voronezh regions) were examined in August 1997 within the framework of Program of the UN International Childhood Foundation, WHO, and its International Committee for Iodine Deficiency Diseases Control “Thyroid: Standardized Analysis of Iodine Supply in Europe”. Standard sampling in each region consisted of 10 subgroups for each year of life, 35-36 subjects per subgroup, with equal number of boys and girls. Iodine was measured in the morning urine by the cerium arsenite method. The parents were interviewed about nutrition using universal questionnaires. Slight iodine deficiency was detected in the region, the median of ioduria varying from 69 to 86 mcg/liter. Renal iodine excretion below the threshold normal value (