The Effect Of Iodine Deficiency On The Academic Performance Of School Children In Sodo Town Southern Ethiopia

Background: There are many reasons for children to underperform at school because of poorrnnutritional status, below average intelligence, socio-cultural environment and otherrnenvironmental factors. Iodine deficiency disorder is a public health problem worldwidernincluding Ethiopia and it is the major cause of preventable brain damage in children.rnAlthough there are studies on iodine deficiency in the country, its effect on academicrnperformance is not well documented.rnObjective: This study intended to assess effect of Iodine Deficiency on academicrnperformance of school children in Wolaita Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia.rnMethods: School based comparative cross sectional study on a sample population of 270rnchildren with goiter and 264 without goiter was conducted in a purposively selected primaryrnschool in Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia from Dec. 2010 to Feb 2011. Total students in eachrnclass were examined for the presence of goiter and classified based on WHOrnrecommendation. For every child with goiter, next child without goiter was selected from thernsame class. Pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographicrnfactors and information on students’ academic performance was obtained from the schoolrnrecord. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to see the effect ofrnindependent variables on the outcome variable. Ethical clearance was obtained fromrnResearch Ethics Committee of School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, AddisrnAbaba University.rnResult: Among children with goiter higher proportion (54.8%) were females and proportionrnincrease with age. Consuming foods (cabbage and cassava) was significantly associated withrngoiter (AOR=1.9; 95%CI=1.2, 2.9). The odds of scoring low school performance was higherrnamong, children whose fathers were illiterate (AOR=1.9; 95%CI=1.1, 3.5) and absenteeismrnof more than four days (AOR=1.5; 95%CI=1.1, 2.21). Goiter was significantly associatedrnwith low academic performance (AOR=1.8; 95%CI=1.2, 2.5).rnConclusion and recommendation: Goiter rate is significantly associated with consumptionrnof goiterogens. Presence of goiter has negative effect on academic performance. Awarenessrnon endemic goiter and its impact on school performance and emphasis on prevention andrncontrol by concerned bodies is recommended to alleviate the problem

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