Level of Concentration of Iodine in Salt and proper Utilization Methods at House Hold and Associated Factors in Selected District of Arsi zone Ethiopia 2016

Introduction: When iodine intake falls below recommended levels due to various factors, the thyroid may no longer be able to synthesize sufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. Survey made by Ethiopian public health institute, of the total population, 26% have endemic goiter and more than 62% are at risk of Iodine deficiency disorder. Objectives: To assess level of concentration of iodine in salt and proper utilization at house hold level and associated factors in Arsi Zone, Ethiopia 2016. Methods: A community-based cross- sectional study implemented among communities of Arsi zone. Data entry and analyses were carried out using Epi info version 3.5.4 and SPSS version 20, respectively. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed significant level and association of variables tested by using 95% confidence interval (CI) and odds ratio. And P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: a total of681participants were participated. The availability of 52.7% House hold salt samples have iodine levels below the minimum slandered set by the quality and standard authority of the country. Sixty six percent of the respondent adds salt in the early beginning and in the in middle of cooking. Multivariate analysis showed that using ever heard about iodine salt 2.2 (AOR (95% CI) = 2.2 (1.08, 4.29)), Having goiter problem (AOR (95% CI) = 2.7 (1.48, 5.23)), utilizing for long time (AOR (95% CI) = 3.18 (1.7, 5.9) were determinant factors for availability of adequately iodized salt at household level. Conclusions. Level of iodine concentration in salt at house hold level was very low. Therefore, communities in the study area should be sensitized about importance of iodized salt and its proper handling at the household level.