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. 2001 Feb 9;25(3):164–166. doi: 10.1007/s002640000216

Kashin-Beck disease and iodine deficiency in Tibet

R Moreno-Reyes 1, C Suetens 2, F Mathieu 3, F Begaux 3, Dun Zhu 4, T Rivera 5, M Boelaert 7, J Nève 5, N Perlmutter 6, J Vanderpas 8
PMCID: PMC3620653  PMID: 11482533

Abstract

We evaluated iodine and selenium status in 575 children between 5 and 15 years with Kashin-Beck disease from endemic and non-endemic areas. Of these 267 (46%) children had goiter. The proportion of subjects with goiter was higher in the villages with Kashin-Beck disease than in the control village. In the villages with Kashin-Beck disease, 105 (23%) of the subjects had a serum thyrotropin greater than 10 mU/l as compared with 3 (4%) in the control village. The percentages of low serum thyroxine values and low serum tri-iodothyronine were greater in the villages where Kashin-Beck disease was endemic than in the control village. The percentages of low urinary iodine concentration were significantly greater in the subjects with Kashin-Beck disease. The results suggest that in areas where severe selenium deficiency is endemic, iodine deficiency is a risk factor for Kashin-Beck disease.

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