Field Story
Planning for success: Nutrition International technical assistance supports the Seqota Declaration to end stunting
December 11, 2023
This study investigated the association of serum selenium levels of severely iodine-deficient children (54-60 months) from the Amhara region of Ethiopia.
A cross-sectional study was used to analyze serum selenium, thyroid-stimulating hormone, total thyroxin, total triiodothyronine and thyroglobulin. In addition, iodine in urine and household salt was analyzed, and the presence of goiter was assessed.
Selenium-deficient children were found to have higher levels of the thyroid hormone thyroxin (T4) than children with normal a normal serum selenium concentration. Because selenium influences thyroid metabolism, this evidence may endanger the effectiveness of the salt iodization program.