A Study to Determine the Relationship between Endemic Goiter and Food Habits

Introduction & The present study is a case-control retrospective study. The purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between “endemic goiter "and “food habits "of governmental high school students of Khoy city. Target population in this research is divided into two groups: “case population " and "control population". Case population includes all the school girls who have goiter and control population includes all the girl students who do not have goiter. 120 subjects (60 case groups and 60 control group) were randomly selected from target population by cluster-sampling method. The information was obtained through one stage. Questionnaire and observational form were two means of data collection and descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the finding. Findings showed that although higher percentage of control group students (41.7) in comparison with case group students (31.7) used iodized salt, there was no significant difference from vantage point of consumed salt (usual, iodized or both). And findings proved that the case and control group students had significant difference regarding keeping and using of iodized salt at home (P < 0.05), so that higher percentage of control group students (86.7) in comparison with case group (68.3) used iodized salt both for cooking and salt – celler: And case group students also kept iodized salt in unfavorable conditions at home. (Humid place and uncovered dish). Food habits determined that students in case and control groups from vantage point of average monthly consumption of meat and its supplements, corn, grain, fat, fruit, and vegetables did not have significant difference but from view point of average monthly consumption of dairy products and nuts had significant difference. (P < 0.05).By comparing the students of case and control groups from view point of average monthly consumption of iodized and goitrogenic foods, significant statistical differences were observed and also there was significant relationship between goiter and other variables such as father occupation and family number in two mentioned groups. Regarding the result of data analysis, it is highly recommended to follow a regular education and some continuous educational programs for improving food habits and preventing of disease.