Is Iodine deficiency a burden among school-age children in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background Nowadays, Iodine deficiency has become a huge burden to the globe, leaving 2 billion people and 29.8% of school-age children iodine deficient. It is a leading cause of preventable brain damage among children, resulting in impaired cognitive and motor development. Even though, salt iodization was started to be implemented to alleviate this burden in Ethiopia, primary studies assessing Iodine deficiency in the country show inconsistent findings which make it difficult to assess the effect of the intervention as well as to design appropriate and timely measures. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of iodine deficiency and the common factors affecting its occurrence among school-age children in Ethiopia. Method To obtain the eligible studies, databases (EMBASE, Scopus, Hinari, and PubMed), websites (Google and Google Scholar), and references of the eligible studies were searched systematically. Data were extracted using an Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using STATA 17 version. I2 test was used to assess heterogeneity between the studies. Random-effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence and pooled odds ratio. Funnel plot and Egger’s test were done to detect publication bias. Result A total of 15 eligible studies, having 15,611 school-age children were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of Iodine deficiency among school-age children in Ethiopia was found to be 58% (95%CI: 44.00–77.00), while the highest prevalence was recorded in Oromia region, which was 64% (95% CI: 49–79). Goitrogenic food consumption (AOR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.60–5.35) and sex of the child (AOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.43–2.44) showed a significant association with the prevalence of iodine deficiency. Conclusion Iodine deficiency among school-age children in Ethiopia was found noticeably high. Goitrogenic food consumption and the sex of the child were determinant factors for the occurrence of iodine deficiency among the children. Therefore, appropriate advice should be given to the households to limit goitrogenic foods in the diet of their children by giving due attention to their female children.