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This booklet brings out most of the well known facts about endemic goiter, particularly regarding its etiology and treatment. It reports a survey of adolescents and young adults in counties and towns in various parts of England and Scotland, and of the drinking waters in the same communities, to determine their iodine content and "hardness"; findings are correlated with the incidence of endemic goiter.
The authors note that McClendon and Williams, in the United States, found those areas in which the drinking water contained 3 mg. or more of iodine per liter to be practically free from goiter. By comparison, in England generally it was found that an iodine content of 5 mg. of iodine per liter was the preventive level; this is attributed to the "hardness" of the water. In those regions of England and Scotland where the water was "soft," a level of 3 mg. of iodine per