BRIEFS
Health
Panama remains iodine deficiency-free
| Vielka Corro Ríos/la prensa |
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| healthy investment: Ministry of Health and the salt industry have collaborated to eliminate problems related to iodine deficiencies.1130390 |
According to a recent study, Panama maintains its status as a country free from iodine deficiency disorders.
On Friday, Mabel Bernal de Mas, a Ministry of Health representative, acknowledged that efforts by salt producers to iodize their products has effectively helped to curtail or eliminate goiter in the country.
De Mas explained that the most recent study was performed on 736 schoolchildren residing in goiter-endemic areas, including Herrera, Los Santos, and Chiriquí. As part of the study, each child studied was asked to take three tablespoons of salt used in their homes to prepare food.
Modesto Delgado, manager of a national salt federation, explained that his federation spends between $15,000 and $20,000 per year for salt iodization, adding that they iodize 100 percent of the salt they process. While acknowledging that the population has been sensitized over the past few years on the need to consume iodized salt, as it directly affects health, Delgado also attributes these results to 18 years of collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Health and the salt industry.
"In 2002, we were certified as a country free from iodine insufficiency, and thereafter, that status has been maintained," Delgado said.
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