<P> Prevention includes adding small amounts of iodine to table salt, a product known as iodized salt . Iodine compounds have also been added to other foodstuffs, such as flour, water and milk, in areas of deficiency . Seafood is also a well known source of iodine . </P> <P> Iodine deficiency resulting in goiter occurs in 187 million people globally as of 2010 (2.7% of the population). It resulted in 2700 deaths in 2013 up from 2100 deaths in 1990 . </P> <P> A low amount of thyroxine (one of the two thyroid hormones) in the blood, due to lack of dietary iodine to make it, gives rise to high levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which stimulates the thyroid gland to increase many biochemical processes; the cellular growth and proliferation can result in the characteristic swelling or hyperplasia of the thyroid gland, or goiter . In mild iodine deficiency, levels of triiodiothyronine (T) may be elevated in the presence of low levels of levothyroxine, as the body converts more of the levothyroxine to triiodothyronine as a compensation . Some such patients may have a goiter, without an elevated TSH . The introduction of iodized salt since the early 1900s has eliminated this condition in many affluent countries; however, in Australia, New Zealand, and several European countries, iodine deficiency is a significant public health problem . It is more common in third - world nations . Public health initiatives to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease have resulted in lower discretionary salt use at the table . Additionally, there is a trend towards consuming more processed foods in western countries . The noniodized salt used in these foods means that people are less likely to obtain iodine from adding salt during cooking . </P> <P> Goiter is said to be endemic when the prevalence in a population is> 5%, and in most cases goiter can be treated with iodine supplementation . If goiter is untreated for around five years, however, iodine supplementation or thyroxine treatment may not reduce the size of the thyroid gland because the thyroid is permanently damaged . </P>

A lack of iodine in the diet can lead to the formation of a goiter because
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