THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENDEMIC GOITER

The demonstration of the widespread incidence of edemic goiter in the United States as well as in foreign countries, where the occurrence of thyroid enlargement during adolescence has long been known, has helped greatly to develop an interest in methods of prophylaxis. The statistics gathered during the draft examinations in connection with the World War were particularly impressive because they included the records of more than two and a half million young men within the ages of fitness for military service. The ratio per thousand examinations ranged, for the different states of the Union, from 26.9 to 0.25. This fact of itself serves to indicate that there are great differences in the occurrence of goiter in different regions; and there are today numerous indications of wide variation in the distribution of endemic goiter within the individual states. Since the period when the war-time data were secured, goiter surveys have been