Iodised salt programs and iodine status in the Eastern Mediterranean
What it found
Adding iodine to salt has greatly improved iodine levels across the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Several countries have now nearly wiped out disorders caused by too little iodine.
What they found
Studies in people
More salt has iodine
Countries in the Eastern Mediterranean have made strong progress in adding enough iodine to the salt people eat.
Fewer iodine disorders
Several nations in the region, including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Iran, have either eliminated or nearly eliminated health problems linked to low iodine.
Other findings
Tracking iodine levels
Careful monitoring helps governments measure how big the iodine problem is and see if adding iodine to salt is working for the population.
What the authors conclude
- They advise governments to take active steps to make iodised salt rules mandatory through teamwork across different sectors.
- They say countries need to carefully check their populations' iodine nutrition levels.
- They recommend that national programs for adding iodine to salt and for cutting down salt intake must work together.
How it was done
The World Health Organization asked all nations to add iodine to salt starting in 1991 because low iodine is a leading preventable cause of brain damage. The authors wanted to check how well countries in this region were doing at fixing that problem.
They looked at national reports on iodine levels in school children aged 6 to 12 years from countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. These reports are gathered every 3 years to track progress over time.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of regional progress rather than a controlled trial. It cannot prove that iodised salt alone caused the improvements seen in each country.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- The Pennsylvania State University, USA; The American University of Madaba, Jordan; University of Vienna, Austria
The paper
- Title
- Trend of Iodine Status in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and Impact of the Universal Salt Iodization Programs: a Narrative Review
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Doggui R, Al-Jawaldeh H, Al-Jawaldeh A (2020). Trend of Iodine Status in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and Impact of the Universal Salt Iodization Programs: a Narrative Review. Biological trace element research. doi:10.1007/s12011-020-02083-1PubMed 32221799DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error