hrvatski

Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Program in Croatia-TSH Screening in the blood of Newborns

The iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) control intervention program in Croatia has been conducted since the end of the eighties. After the epidemiological and biochemical assesment had indicated the presence of a mild goiter prevalence, it was decided to increase the iodine level in all salt intended for human food and animal feed from 10 to 25mg KI per kg of salt. One of the main purposes of the IDD surveillance is to determine the magnitude and distribution of IDD in the population. Beside epidemiological criteria for assessing the size of IDD problems on the basis of goiter prevalence and urinary iodine excretion in the population of school children, an important public health iodine deficiency indicator is the level of TSH in whole blood of newborns. For the purpose of screening of all hypothyroid neonates in Croatia, TSH levels are measured by use of ELISA method at one reference center. During the three-year period, beginning from 1996. TSH values were statistically analyzed for the a representative sample of the newborns ( about 3, 500 per year).Data showed about 11% of the newborns to have levels >5mU/L on an average. According to the criteria of the public health significance of IDD based on the prevalence of elevated TSH levels obtained from newborns whole blood, the data indicated that Croatia could generally be classified as a country with the mild IDD problems.

iodine deficiency disorders, prevention program, Croatia

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