CURE OF GOITRE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17569, 20 June 1925, Page 2

CURE OF GOITRE.

IMPORTANT REPORT. Tor Press Association. WELLINGTON. June 20. The Health Department has received a valuable report on endemic goitre in New Zealand from Professor Hercus. of Otago, with whom have been associated Professor Benson, Professor of Geology, and Mr C. L. Carter, lecturer on Chemistry. The report states that, as indicating the prevalence of goitre in New Zealand, it may be mentioned that the routine of school medical inspection for 1924 shows that, out of a total of 55.000 children examined, goitre (of a different degree) existed in 18.33 per cent, made up as follows:—lncipient, 12.53 per cent; small, 5 per cent; medium, 7 per cent; large, 11 per cent. In 1920 an endeavour was male to establish accurately the extent to which thyroid enlargement prevailed amongst the school children of Canterbury and Westland. The majority of ch.ldren examined were in the age groups of five to fourteen years. The results were summarised as follows:—Of th’e children examined. 39 per cent were found to have normal, and 61 per cent enlarged thyroids. The report says that, assuming that the fundamental factor in the causation of goitre, is a deficient intake of iodine, the prevention of the disease should uj a comparatively simple problem. We believe that the best method cf prophylaxis considered on physiological grounds as well as those of efficiency and economy, would be derived from a daily ingestion of minute amounts of iodine, by the utilisation for all culinary and table purposes of an iodised salt, in which one part of potassium iodide had been added to 100,000 cf sodium chloride.”