Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R.
Assertion A: Goitre is a common disease in mountainous regions.
Reason R: The diet of the people in mountains lacks Iodine content.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Assertion A: Goitre is a common disease in mountainous regions.
Fact: Goitre is the enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Geographic Context: In mountainous areas (like the Himalayas or the Alps), the soil is often depleted of iodine due to ancient glacial activity and heavy rainfall/leaching.
Conclusion: Since the soil lacks iodine, the crops grown there also lack iodine, making Goitre prevalent in these regions.
Status: Assertion (A) is True.
Reason R: The diet of the people in mountains lacks Iodine content.
Scientific Link: The thyroid gland requires iodine to produce hormones ( and ). When the dietary intake of iodine is low, the gland enlarges to try and capture more iodine from the blood.
Conclusion: The lack of iodine in the local diet is the direct cause of the high incidence of Goitre in these specific regions.
Status: Reason (R) is True.
We can represent the relationship between Iodine and Thyroid health using the following logic:
The correlation between Geography () and Disease () based on the Reason () is:
Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true, and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A).
Correct Choice:
Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
