Knowledge and Practice of Iodized Salt and Iodine Deficiency Disorders among Men in Nungua, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDDs) continues to be a problem in Ghana after several years of salt fortification with iodine. Sustainable IDD prevention requires a well-informed population willing to use iodized salt. This study determined men's knowledge levels on iodized salt, and IDDs iodized salt usage. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 400 men (18 years and above) sampled conveniently at Nungua in the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Data on socio-demographics, knowledge, use of iodized salt, and IDDs were collected. We computed descriptive statistics for socio-demographic data, knowledge of iodized salt, usage of iodized salt, and knowledge of IDDs. We grouped scores for knowledge of iodized salt into poor and good. Scores for knowledge of IDDs were split into tertiles and labeled as low, moderate, and high. Chi-Square (χ2 ) test and multinomial logistic regression were performed to determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics, good knowledge of iodized salt, and high knowledge about IDDs. Results: The majority of respondents (37.5%) were aged between 26 and 41 years. About 97.8% have heard about iodized salt and 69.3% first heard about iodized salt through the media. About 70.5% used iodized salt in cooking and 76.8 % of the respondents would encourage women to use salt in cooking. When the knowledge level was split into two groups, the higher proportion (266 out of 400) had poor knowledge of iodized salt and in tertiles, the majority (184 of 400) had low knowledge on IDDs. There were statistically significant differences between age, marital status educational level, and knowledge of IDDs all at P< 0.001. Those with Junior High School education had 54% less chance, OR= 0.465; 95% CI: (0.244, 0.884) of obtaining a good knowledge of iodized salt compared with those with a University education. Conclusions: Knowledge of iodized salt was low, and knowledge of IDDs was low among the men. There is a difference in the level of knowledge of IDDs among the socio-economic groups but not knowledge on iodized salt and its use. The more educated the men are, the more likely they are to use iodized salt.