TY - JOUR AU - Bhowal, Koushik AU - Mukherjee, Indrani AU - Chaudhuri, Debnath PY - 2014/12/31 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Association of iodine status with IQ level and academic achievement of rural primary school children in West Bengal, India JF - Indian Journal of Community Health JA - Indian J Community Health VL - 26 IS - Supp 2 SE - Original Article DO - UR - https://iapsmupuk.org/journal/index.php/IJCH/article/view/497 SP - 216-222 AB - <p><strong>Background:&nbsp;</strong>Iodine being an integral component of the thyroid hormones is crucial for physical and mental development. Iodine status &amp; intake is often measured by a surrogate measure, namely urine iodine excretion, as almost all ingested iodine is excreted in the urine.&nbsp;<strong>Aims &amp;Objectives:&nbsp;</strong>To investigate the body Iodine status of rural primary school children and its association with their intelligence level (IQ) &amp; academic achievement.&nbsp;<strong>Materials &amp; Methods:&nbsp;</strong>A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in three Government schools in the district of 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India among&nbsp; 300 children (150 boys &amp; 150 girls) aged 6 to 8 years&nbsp; studying in class II to IV. Urinary iodine was estimated by the 'Wet Digestion Method (Sandell-Kolthoff reaction). IQ level was evaluated using Ravens Progressive Matrices test. Academic achievement was evaluated on the marks obtained in the term end examinations.&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Result:&nbsp;</strong>12.34%, 15.6% &amp; 24.3% of the children were in the severe, moderate &amp; mild range of iodine deficiency in terms of urinary iodine excretion. It was found that 85.67% &amp; 14.33% of the children were consumed iodated salt ?15 ppm &amp;&lt; 15 ppm of iodine level. 0.67%, 5% &amp; 27.34 % of them achieved A, B &amp; C of IQ grades, respectively.62.34 % of the students achieved first three academic grades. Body Iodine status of the children has significant positive correlation (P&lt;0.01) with IQ grades and academic achievement. Academic achievement of the children has significant positive correlation (P&lt;0.05) with their intelligence level.&nbsp;<strong>Conclusions:&nbsp;</strong>Poor body Iodine status of the rural primary school children may be one of the causes for their poor intelligence level and academic achievement.</p> ER -