With more than 50 percent of its population not exposed to iodized salt, Vietnam is among the countries whose population is suffering from an iodine deficiency, a health official said.
In 2005 the exposure of Vietnamese people to iodized salt was 91.9 percent, higher than the recommended level of 90 percent, but the rate has dropped to just 46.1 percent seven years later, said Dr Le Phong, deputy director of the Training and Direction of Healthcare Activities Center under the Central Urology Hospital.
A survey conducted by the hospital in 1993 showed that 22.4 percent of children aged 8-12 nationwide suffered from goiter. That rate was much higher than the global advised level of less than or equal to 5 percent.
The survey also showed that 94 percent of Vietnam’s population was living in areas lacking iodized salt for use at that time.
In 1992, Vietnam began a ten-year program to deal with this deficiency, and as a result, the rate of children aged 8-12 with goiter dropped to 14.2 percent in 1998, 10.2 percent in 2000 and 3.6 percent in 2005, when the program ended and Vietnam announced that it had solved the problem of iodine deficiency nationwide.
However, in the years since, exposure to iodized salt has dropped sharply, causing great concerns about disorders caused by iodine deficiency.
Due to a lack of money to import Potassium Iodide (KI) and Potassium Iodate (KiO3), which are costly, to add to normal salt to make iodized salt, the country is facing a shortage of materials for producing iodized salt.
The current volume of KiO3 in storage only meets one-fifth of the demand of producers of iodized salt.
On the other hand, the production of iodized salt requires advanced technology that few plants in Vietnam can obtain.
An iodine deficiency poses many health risks, especially to pregnant women and young children, experts said.
An iodine deficiency can cause severe mental retardation, such as cretinism, and even a mild iodine deficiency can result in a significant loss in learning ability.
Other health effects include increased risks of stillbirth, miscarriage, goiters for women and learning difficulties for children.
Currently, the hospital is conducting a survey of illnesses or disorders caused by iodine deficiency across the country and will announce the result of the survey in the near future, Dr Phong said.