The burden of iodine deficiency

Iodine deficiency is a global issue; however, no comparable assessments of the burden of iodine deficiency have been conducted worldwide. Hence, we measured the estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) from 1990 to 2019. Our aim was to quantify the geographic differences in the burden of iodine deficiency worldwide.

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 methodology was employed to investigate the worldwide, regional, and national incidence of iodine deficiency and the accompanying disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).

The global age-standardized incidence (ASI) and DALY rates of iodine deficiency declined from 1990 to 2019, with an EAPC of -0.44 and -1.35, respectively. Low and low-middle SDI had much higher ASI and DALY rates of iodine deficiency than other SDI regions. At the regional level, the largest growth in the ASI rate of iodine insufficiency from 1990 to 2019 occurred in East Asia, and at the national level, the greatest increases in the ASI rate of iodine deficiency occurred in the Philippines, Pakistan and Nepal. In addition, males had a lower worldwide ASI rate of iodine insufficiency than females did, with the incidence rate peaking in populations aged 20-24.

Between 1990 and 2019, there was a decline in the global ASI and DALY rates of iodine deficiency. However, East Asia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Nepal exhibited the largest increases in the ASI rates of iodine deficiency, demonstrating their significant burden of iodine insufficiency. These regions must therefore be targeted for intervention.