Analysis of the influence factors influencing thyroid volume in school children in iodine-deficient regions

Objective: To study the influence factors influencing thyroid volume in school children in iodine-deficient region. Methods: By employing stratified cluster sampling, the indicators including the thyroid volume, body height, body weight were investigated among 1 200 children aged 8 - 10 years old in Shandong Province. And the relationship of gender, age, height and weight with the thyroid volume was analyzed respectively. Results: The thyroid volume had no obvious difference between boys and girls(P > 0.05). But the thyroid volumes in different groups of age, height,weight were of obvious difference. The children's thyroid volume increased with the increment of age, height and weight, namely it positively correlated with age, height and weight, respectively (P < 0.001). The body weight influenced thyroid volume more than body height did. Conclusions: The factors of child's age, body height and body weight obviously influence the thyroid volume. When the child's thyroid volume is evaluated, the related factors of physical development, such as age, height and weight etc, should be integrated into consideration.