Non-iodized salt consumption among women of reproductive age in sub-Saharan Africa

Objective: To identify countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that have not yet achieved at least 90 % universal salt iodization and factors associated with the consumption of non-iodized salt among women of reproductive age. Design: A cross-sectional study using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The presence of iodine in household salt (iodized or non-iodized), which was tested during the survey process, was the study outcome. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine independent factors associated with the consumption of non-iodized salt among women of reproductive age. Setting: There were eleven countries in SSA that participated in the DHS since 2015 and measured the presence of iodine in household salt. Participants: Women ( n 108 318) aged 15–49 years. Results: Countries with the highest rate of non-iodized salt were Senegal (29·5 %) followed by Tanzania (21·3 %), Ethiopia (14·0 %), Malawi (11·6 %) and Angola (10·8 %). The rate of non-iodized salt was less than 1 % in Rwanda (0·3 %), Uganda (0·5 %) and Burundi (0·8 %). Stepwise multivariable logistic regression showed that women were more likely to be using non-iodized salt (adjusted OR; 95 % CI) if they were poor (1·62; 1·48, 1·78), pregnant (1·16; 1·04, 1·29), aged 15–24 years ( v . older: 1·14; 1·04, 1·24) and were not literate (1·14; 1·06, 1·23). Conclusions: The use of non-iodized salt varies among SSA countries. The higher level of use of non-iodized salt among poor, young women and pregnant women is particularly concerning

Environmental health · Geography · Iodine · Iodine deficiency · Iodised salt · Logistic regression · Population · Tanzania · Traditional medicine · Demography · Medicine · Neuroscience of respiration and sleep · Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies · Thyroid Disorders and Treatments · Internal Medicine

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