Abstract:
Background: Iodine is an essential component of hormones which involve in regulating metabolism,
physical growth, and development. The deficiency of Iodine leads to hypothyroidism and is
the leading cause of preventable mental retardation. Many countries including Ethiopia implement
national salt iodization to mitigate iodine deficiency. However, the adequacy of salt iodization is mostly
suboptimal, requiring critical monitoring.
Objectives: To assess the adequate iodized salt at the household level and associated factors in Assosa
Town, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State Northwest Ethiopia, 2022
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from May 21-30/2022 in
Assosa Town. A systematic random sampling technique was used to identify households for the study.
Data were coded and entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS for windows version 26 for
analysis. Descriptive statistics like the mean, frequency, and percentages for categorical data were
computed. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between
independent and outcome variables. P-values <0.25 in the bivariate analysis were entered into the next
multivariable analysis. Variables having a p-value <0.05 with 95% CI in the multivariate analysis were
used to interpret the result.
Result: 407 household respondents participated in the study with a response rate of 98.1%. Out of 407
tested salt samples, 213(52.3%) [95% CI: (47.4%-57.3%] of the salt sample was adequately iodized salt
(≥15 ppm). Findings of multivariate analysis showed that households using packed salt were 2.53 times
[AOR=2.53, 95% CI (1.18-5.42)] more likely to have adequate iodine in the salt than their counterpart.
Salt stored for ≤2 months at the household level was 3.44 times [AOR=3.44, at 95% CI (1.16-10.15)]
more likely to have adequate iodine (≥15ppm) than salt stored for greater than 2 months. Locally packed
salt was 94% times [AOR=0.06, at 95% CI (0.03-0.12)] less likely to have adequate iodine than salt with
the unknown packed address. Households purchasing the salt from the shop had 3.33 times [AOR=3.33,
at 95% CI (1.86-5.94)] more likely to get adequate iodized salt than their counterpart.
Conclusions and recommendations: Only half of the households had adequately iodized salt. Using
packed salt, short duration of storing the salt (≤2 months), using local packed salt, and purchasing salt
from the shop were variables significantly associated with adequate iodized salt in the household. All
stakeholders for the elimination of iodine deficiency disorders should be given attention to the adequacy
of iodine at the household level which the people use for consumption.
