Iodine deficiency can inflict all regions of Uzbekistan - Nurmat Otabekov

Nurmat Otabekov, deputy head of the sanitary-epidemiological peace and public health service warned that iodine deficiency could inflict the people of Uzbekistan, at a briefing held at the Agency of Information and Mass Communications under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan on July 5.
According to the studies carried out by the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Centre of Endocrinology, the average daily consumption of iodine by citizens has decreased significantly and is only 32-64 mcg. The minimum required amount is 150-200 mcg.
According to the WHO, if the sporadic forms of endemic goitre are reduced by 5%, then it is considered to be completely eliminated, but today Uzbekistan remains a region with severe iodine deficiency.
"Iodine deficiency increases the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism and causes irreversible brain damage and mental retardation in fetuses and newborns. According to WHO experts, iodine deficiency is the most common cause of mental retardation, and it can be prevented only by a reasonable approach. But it should not be forgotten that it is inevitable that the intellectual potential of all people living in regions with iodine deficiency will decrease," said Nurmat Otabekov.
According to the non-governmental organization dealing with the elimination of iodine deficiency in the world, there is a strategy of compulsory iodization of salt in more than 96 countries of the world and its determination in the legislation is currently one of the ways to solve this problem. 
The sale and consumption of iodized table salt and a healthy lifestyle will help increase the welfare of the country's population.
Iodine deficiency diseases are a pathological condition, a process associated with insufficient consumption of iodine in the body in connection with the dysfunction of the thyroid gland. Despite the long-term struggle against iodine deficiency, the problem of iodine deficiency has not been fully resolved in many countries of the world, including Uzbekistan.