Abstract:
Radioiodine uptake by the thyroid at 2 houes and 24 hours and levels of the hormones T3, T4 and TSH in blood of 112 school children over 16 years of age with clinically demonstrable goitre (grade 1B and above) have been measured. Of them 92 lived in an endemic area and 20 in a non-endemic area. They have been compared with age and sex matched clinically non-goitrous controls from the same schools in the two areas. The results show that the hormone levels are of little use in diagnosing iodine deficiency, Radioiodine uptake is a more sensitive test of iodine deficient goitre. Results also indicate the there may be factors other than iodine deficiency responsible for the development of goitre
