Iodine nutrition and thyroid nodules among children and adolescents in a coastal area of China

This study aims to assess iodine nutritional status and investigate the prevalence of thyroid nodules in children and adolescents in Ningbo city, China.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ningbo, China, in 2011. Salt iodine, urine iodine concentration (UIC) and thyroid nodules (by ultrasonography) were measured in 329 participants aged 6–17 years.

The median UIC of all participants was 167.23 μg/L. No significant differences in UICs were observed between boys and girls (Z = −1.06, P = 0.29), children and adolescents (Z = −1.88, P = 0.06), iodized salt users and noniodized salt users (Z = −0.10, P = 0.92). A total of 114 nodules with maximum diameters between 1.5 and 12 mm were found among 51 (15.50 %) participants, the prevalence of thyroid nodules between children and adolescents has no significant difference (χ ² = 0.29, P = 0.59), and there were no significant differences in age (t = 1.56, P = 0.12), gender (χ ² = 0.13, P = 0.72), type of salt (χ ² = 0.14, P = 0.71), family history of thyroid diseases (P = 0.46, Fisher’s exact test) and UICs (Z = −1.12, P = 0.26) between the participants with thyroid nodules and those without.

The iodine nutrition was adequate in children and adolescents in Ningbo city, but the prevalence of thyroid nodules among children and adolescents was high.