Goitre, which is an enlargement of the thyroid gland resulting from insufficient intake of iodine prevails in many parts of Ethiopia. A number of surveys have indicated that the disease exists on a significant scale.
A more recent survey was conducted by the Ethiopian Nutrition Institute 1972 E.C. (1980) on 35,635 school children and 19,128 members of randomly selected households in 42 towns from nearly all the regions of Ethiopia.
The survey results showed that the overall prevalence of goiter ranges from 0.4% to 66.3% with a mean of 25.1%.
The prevalence in high altitude (over 2000m.) appears to be significantly greater than that of lower altitude (less than 2000m.) areas. The mean for the higher altitudes was 33.9% while that of the lower ones was 19.2%.
(Source: National Atlas of Ethiopia)
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