As much as 30 of the population of Bashkortostan is affected by endemic goiter. This is considered to be a high degree of endemism. Recent investigations have shown that, in addition to iodine deficiency (the primary reason), several other strumogenic factors are also responsible for this illness. To elucidate the relation of this thyroid gland pathology to the microelemental status and local geology of the residence region, we investigated three districts of Bashkortostan with different geological and geomorphological settings: (1) the Kugarchi district at the junction of the western slope of the Urals and the Ural Foredeep, (2) the Sharan district on the platformal plain of Bashkortostan, and (3) the Burzyan district in the mountainous Urals.
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