Xm. Jiang et al., DYNAMICS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPLEMENTATION OF IODINE - 4 YEARS EXPERIENCE OF IODINATION OF IRRIGATION WATER IN HOTIEN, XINJIANG, CHINA, Archives of environmental health, 52(6), 1997, pp. 399-408
Hotien prefecture, Xinjiang Province, China, in the Taklamakan Desert,
is an area of severe iodine deficiency. Because usual methods of iodi
ne supplementation failed here, we began supplementation in 1992 with
potassium iodate, which was added to irrigation water (Lancet 1994; 33
4:107-110). We report 4 y experience with this method in 3 townships t
hat contained a total treated population of 37 000. Potassium iodate w
as dripped into irrigation water (to a concentration 10-80 mu g/l) dur
ing a 2- to 4-wk period. During the 3 y that followed, no further supp
lementation was made, and iodine concentrations increased several fold
in crops and plants, sheep and chicken thyroid glands, and meat and i
n urine of children 2-6 y of age and of women who were of childbearing
age. Infant mortality decreased 50%, and sheep production increased 4
3%. iodine repletion of soil through irrigation water is an effective
and cost-efficient way of providing iodine in appropriate situations.