Iodine and Thyroid Disorders in Ghana

Iodine and Thyroid Disorders in Ghana

The Ghanaian government started a Universal Salt Iodization program initiated alongside other complementary actions in response to the 1994 iodine deficiency among its 3% of the population. Iodine is one of the essential micronutrients required in our bodies. It is responsible for the production of thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine. The thyroid hormones undertake the regulation of multiple metabolic pathways. Various studies show that a lack of enough consumption of iodine may result in several biological impacts. At the same time, too much of it in the body system induces the hyperactivity of the thyroid glands. Research shows that a third of the household ensure that they adequately utilized iodized salt, exposing showing that the majority of the Ghana household are either affected by excessive or deficiency of iodine consumption (Abu et al. 2018). The paper will aim to examine the prevalence and effects of thyroid disorder among the Ghanaian population.

Thyroid disorder ranks second to diabetes among the world public health problem. It presents multiple devastating consequences presented by the endocrinological disease commonly experienced by adults and plays a significant role in controlling disorders. However, the deficiency of iodine in the body leads to the formation of goiter and hypothyroidism in extreme cases. As a result of iodine deficiency in the system, one is likely to suffer from cretinism, intellectual impairments, and increased pregnancy loss among pregnant women and also have consequential effects on the unborn children leading to high infant mortality (Sarfo-Kantanka et al. 2017). On the other, there are immense biological impacts caused by excessive consumption of iodine resulting in the hyperactivity of thyroid glands in the production of the various thyroid hormones. According to nutrition requirements, the right use of iodine to adults and adolescents with 13 years and above should be a daily consumption of 150 µg. And pregnant women should ensure a daily intake of 200 µg while children between 6-12 years should have a 120 µg daily consumption of iodine and 90 µg for young children under the age of 5 years (Sarfo-Kantanka et al. 2017).  Iodine can either come from plant food sources, seafood, supplements, medications, fortified foods, and hygiene products. However, the introduction of the iodization program in Ghana has born no considerable results since the prevalence of thyroid disorders is relatively high contrary to the expectation.

In research carried around in a study population of 10,484 adults in comparing the prevalence of thyroid disorder before and after the policy, the cases of thyroid cases were high. The nodular goiters and the toxic nodular goiters showed an occurrence rate of 25.7% and 22.5%, respectively, in central Ghana (Sarfo-Kantanka et al. 2017). According to findings, the prevalence has increased significantly since the introduction of the policy with cases of hyperthyroidism and autoimmune thyroids being commonly reported. The prevalence rate is, however, experienced among the elderly, infants, and the old. The situation of a thyroid disorder, which is a concern in many countries, saw the WHO come up with the iodization program which they expect governments to implement, though, since introduction, the situation in Ghana has not significantly changed. The population continues to suffer from iodine and thyroid-related disorders.

Also, the intended efficacy level of achievement from the programs has not been attained in vulnerable groups and high groups in Ghana, which include the elderly and the female population along with their young children in Northern Ghana. Several women breastfeeding and those pregnant show a significant level of iodine deficiency (Kubuga, Abizari & Song, 2019). Due to the low intake of iodine by women, most of the children born in Ghana have health problems associated with the deficiency of iodine at their young age and for their mother not taking the required amounts of iodine during pregnancy.

The increase in the prevalence in many cases reported due to iodine and thyroid-related cases among the Ghana population is the socioeconomic and economic status of the affected regions, with the central and northern parts of Ghana being the most affected. In these regions, the financial situation is quite low, making it hard for the population to acquire adequate food rich in iodine and also buy iodine supplements for use (Abu et al. 2018). Most of the African continents rely on agricultural activities, thus lacking enough capital to finance the operations of the Universal Salt Iodization program (Kubuga, Abizari & Song, 2019). Consequently, the food obtained from the farms contains in most of the vast amounts of iodine which the population undertakes in large quantities while also they are engaging in most animal products with fortified iodine in large numbers, thus making the hyperthyroidism effects familiar.

However, the research on iodine and thyroid disorder related cases in Ghana requires a significant relooking and use of broad geographical location for conclusive results. There exist multiple data gaps on the age and gender prevalence of thyroid-related disorders among the population. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization and the government need to come up with elaborate and less expensive programs in the African continents considering the social and economic status of the countries, which makes it hard for attaining the desired levels of iodine. Also, the government should consider undertaking a mass awareness to educate the population on the importance of iodine in the body since most of the masses have no idea on the effects of either having fewer levels of iodine or excess iodine levels in the systems (Kubuga, Abizari & Song, 2019). The supplementary iodine should become a regular thing among the elderly, the sick, and pregnant and lactating mothers to enhance the unborn and the young children’s iodization process in the body.

Consequently, the limited and small data on iodine and thyroid in Ghana should not become undermined. The data from various research conducted across the population show considerate and significant disparities in attaining national iodization levels. The most affected are the women and children as well as the elderly in society. The availability of iodine salt is not enough alone to meet the levels of iodine in the body. Thus individuals should look for other sources of food to get natural iodine. However, Africa and Ghana being one of the African countries, face a threat of food securities which means that the government becomes less concerned with the problem of iodine and channels all the resources to ensuring food security. However, although the WHO recommended daily routine and regular monitoring of iodine may work in developed countries, African countries lack proper infrastructure s and supporting strategies and framework in implementing these recommendations. However, an individual must observe proper nutrition dietary habits to safeguard their health.

References

Abu et al. (2018). Risks of excess iodine intake in Ghana: the current situation, challenges, and lessons for the future. Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences, 1446(1), 117-138. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13988

Kubuga, C., Abizari, A., & Song, W. (2019). Iodine status of reproductive age women and their toddlers in northern Ghana improved through the household supply of iodized salt and weekly domestic meal consumption. PLOS ONE, 14(5), e0216931. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216931

Sarfo-Kantanka et al. (2017). Thyroid Disorders in Central Ghana: The Influence of 20 Years of Iodization. Journal Of Thyroid Research, 2017, 1-8. doi: 10.1155/2017/7843972