The first records of goiter and cretinism date back to ancient civilization, the Chinese and Hindu cultures and then to Greece and Rome.
Hyperthyroidism, or overactivity of the thyroid gland is more common in adolescence than it is in childhood. However, knowledge about the incidence and etiology of the problem is insufficient.
The nineteenth century marked the beginning of serious attempts to control the problem; however, not until the latter half of the twentieth century was the necessary knowledge for effective prevention acquired.
At first there was the discovery of the significance of the functioning of the thyroid gland.
Eugen Baumann (1846-1896) of Freiburg chemically analyzed the thyroid gland for the presence of iodine and found considerable quantities of it, which he called ‘thyreoidone’ in 1896, a crucial discovery providing the essential link in the pathogenetic chain.
In 1920 in Ohio’s endemic goiter belt, David Marine and O.P Kimball compared a large series of school children treated with iodine to a group of controls for the occurrence of goiter. His result clearly and unequivocally showed the efficacy of iodine in preventing the disease.
The first successful large-scale campaigns to prevent endemic goiter salt were carried out in the United States in 1917 and in Switzerland in 1922.
In Switzerland, the widespread occurrence of a severe form of metal deficiency and deaf mutism (endemic cretinism) was a heavy charge on public funds.
Following the introduction of iodized salt, goiter declined rapidly and cretins were no longer born. Goiter also disappeared from army recruits.
There was no new cases of cretinism have been identified in persons born after 1930 in Switzerland.
In Michigan, United States iodized salt was placed in grocery stores throughout Michigan in May of 1924.
Subsequent pilot surveys confirmed the benefits of salt iodization, especially in Central and South America.
Iodized salt was agreed upon as the simplest, cheapest and most effective method of correcting the state-wide iodine deficiency. Iodine can be added in the form of potassium iodide, but potassium iodate is preferred in humid regions, owing to this greater stability.
Iodized Salt: The History
