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jd) Worm lnfestat~on
Although the prevalence of worm lnfestatlon (46 4%) was much hlgher than that
reported from other rural areas In lndla (Table5.1), ~t was lower than that observed from
urban Madras earher (75 0% Lakshmlnarayana and Anb11,1975) There was no
assoclatlon between worm ~nfestat~on and anemla ~n th~ study Slmllar observation was
also made In a study from Japan, where no clear pattern of assoclatlon was observed
between the two (Hee-Yong,l975) Thls IS perhaps because other factors besldes
worm lnfestatlon cause anemla
je) Skln and resplratory disorders
The prevalence of common lnfectlons ~n school age chlldren l~ke skin and resplratory
~nfectlons vaned wldely In d~fferent stud~es ~n lnd~a (Table 5 1) The reasons for these
d~fferences ~n d~fferent studles are not clear However, the season In whlch the studles
have been conducted could crucially Influence thelr prevalence It IS known that the
prevalence of resplratory lnfectlons IS l~kely to be more durlng the monsoon perlod .and
that of skln 'nfectlons more In summer The dlfference observed ~n the prevalence of
these lnfectlons between the current study and the others could be due to the
d~fference In the perlod durlng whlch the morbldlty surveys were conducted
If) Goiter
The absence of gotter in this study could be due to the reason that Tamil Nadu d~d not
fall within the main goiter belt of India, although studies have shown that there were
some pockets where iodine deficiency was endemic (Pandav and Anand,1995)
Moreover, recently there has been a ban on the sale of noniodized salt in Tamil Nadu