The findings provide support for the initiation of vitamin D supplementation program to VDD populations in reducing the severity of influenza.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Background Double fortified salt (DFS) with iron and iodine has been demonstrated to be efficacious but questions of unintended effects on the gains in salt iodization remain. The main cross-sectional study based on the use of DFS over one year showed a reduction in iron deficiency risk. Whether the programs and the levels of added iron may adversely affect iodine status, is yet to be established. Objective We hypothesized that the addition of iron to iodized salt may adversely affect iodine status among women of reproductive age (WRA). Methods A cross-sectional sub study was conducted in four matched pair adjacent districts of rural Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2019. Under the public distribution system (PDS), DFS was available for 1 year through fair price shops, in the two DFS supply districts (DFS-SD). In these districts, iodized salt was also available in the market. In the two compared DFS non-supply districts (DFS-NSD), only iodized salt was available. In the sub-study, participants included WRA (n = 1624) residing in rural areas of the selected districts. Iodine content in urine and salt samples was measured in each of the groups. Results Significantly fewer women from the DFS-SD districts had median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) values indicative of moderate to mild iodine deficiency compared to the women from the DFS-NSD districts. The salt purchase pattern and iodine content revealed that significantly fewer (21.99%) households in the DFS-SD districts were purchasing inadequately iodized crystal salt, compared to 36.04% households in the DFS-NSD districts. Conclusions The data rejects the working hypothesis and suggests a beneficial effect of the DFS program on the iodine status in WRA, thereby supporting a recommendation of DFS supply through the PDS.