Abstract:
Background: To alleviate iodine deficiency, uniform salt iodization has been done throughout the world. However, the adequacy of iodine in salts needs close monitoring to satisfy its intended goal at household levels.
Objective: To assess adequacy of iodized salt among households and its associated factors in Bahir Dar Zuria District, Northwest, Ethiopia, 2022.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among households in Bahir Dar Zuria District from May 23 to June 30, 2022. Data were collected from 825 households that were selected using the multistage sampling technique. The adequacy of iodine in salt was analyzed using Iodometric titration. An interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were cleaned and entered by Epidata version 3.1, and the statistical analysis was done by using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 25. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess associations between explanatory variables and the response variable, and the strength of association was meseared by Odds Ratio (OR).
Result: A total of 825 participants were included in this study. The adequacy of iodized salt was
46.5% with 95%CI [43.5%-50.5%] at the household level. Age >35 years [AOR=2.9, 95% CI=1.76-4.8], urban residents [AOR=4.15, 95% CI=2.68–6.42], elementary school education [AOR=2.43, 95% CI =1.69-3.48], high school and above [AOR=1.875, 95% CI=1.16-3.02] and access to salt [AOR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.07-2.37] were significantly associated with adequacy of iodized salt.
Conclusion & recommendation: Adequacy of iodized salt remains low, in the district and does not meet the national goal. Age, place of residence, level of education and accessibility of salt were significantly associated factors with availability of adequately iodized salt in this study. Therefore; strengthen community mobilization Create awareness and promote about iodized salt at rural community is essential.
Keywords: Adequacy, Iodized salt, Household, Bahir Dar Zuria, Ethiopia