Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Iodine among Patients with Hyperthyroidism in the Free State, South Africa

Abstract

Objective: To gather baseline information on knowledge, attitude and practices regarding iodine and iodised salt among patients with hyperthyroidism in the Free State. Subjects and Setting: The study included all patients aged more than 13 years with hyperthyroidism referred to Universitas Academic Hospital, in Bloemfontein, South Africa during 2005. Methods: Patients were interviewed in their language using a structured validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. Results: Majority of the patients (86.9%) did not know what iodine is. Similarly, a higher percentage of patients (76.7%) were ignorant about the most important or main source of iodine in the food of the people in South Africa. Regarding knowledge of the most important, harmful effect on the health of the children if they do not get enough iodine, almost all of the patients (89.1%) did not know what it was. Salt is obtained from the local shops where only 36% of the patients read the labeling on the package during purchase. A very small proportion of patients (1.6%) store salt in closed containers and away from sunlight while most of them (49.2%) store salt in open container without lid, 36.1% in rigid plastic container with roles at the top and 13.1% in opened plastic bag in which the salt was bought. Conclusion: Patients with hyperthyroidism are ignorant about iodine as well as storage of iodised salt and this could have contributed to the persisting endemic goitre observed in some areas in the country. An aggressive awareness program, targeting policy makers and the public is recommended to ensure sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency disorders in South Africa.