While universal
iodisation of salt helped control iodine deficiency disorders, it could be increasing the risk of
high blood pressure — a leading cause of heart ailments — especially in the
elderly, says retired Col Rajesh Chauhan, in his latest book. Titled ‘Could
universal iodisation of salt be the chief cause of hypertension assuming
epidemic proportion?’, has been published by Lap Lambert Berlin, Germany.
The
book is based on a recent study on nearly 100 elderly patients in Agra, UP.
The
study included patients who were consuming iodised salt regularly and were
compared with another group who were not using iodised salt but pebble salt,
which is also iodised but the iodine content gets washed off, thereby
minimising or avoiding iodine in the salt.
“The
results indicated the people consuming iodised salt were more at risk of
suffering high blood pressure than the ones who were using pebble salt, washed
before use,” Chauhan said.
Excess
consumption of iodine can also cause various forms of rhythm disturbances in
heart, and lead to precipitating angina and heart failure.
To
control iodine deficiency disorders around the world, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) in a statement in August 1994 stressed universal salt
iodisation as the principal public health measure for eliminating Iodine
Deficient Disorders.
Since
1992, India has been using iodised salt, irrespective of the fact whether the
region is actually deficient of iodine or not.
While
iodine deficiency in children can raise a condition called cretinism, usually
characterised with laziness, crying, pot belly, and low intellect; excess
iodine intake as a result of universal salt iodisation could be causing
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, the findings showed.
Though the WHO stated
“monitoring of sodium (salt) intake and iodine intake at the country level is
needed to adjust salt iodisation over time”, India failed to monitor it,
Chauhan said. “In my book, and from the references that I have used therein
taken from the domain of the British Medical Journal, we have raised the
possibility of a global rise in the incidence and prevalence of hypertension,
possibly due to regular consumption of iodised salt,” he noted.
He stressed the need
for more research, which must include the overarching necessity of continuing
with enforcing consumption of iodised salt even in regions that are not
deficient in iodine.
Immediate
corrective steps are needed at national and global levels, and supplemental
iodine is to be used only in areas that are deficient in iodine. More
importantly, non-iodised salt must also be made available in the market, which
has been missing from the shelves for the past two decades and more, Chauhan
suggested. – Agencies