The Charleston Daily News

Goitre and Incipient Cretinism in the United States.

A meeting of the American Ethnological Society was held recently at the residence of Mr. E. G. Squier, when Dr. Macgowan read a paper on Goitre—enlargement of the thyroid gland of the neck—in certain districts of the United States, and on the modifying influences of climate. He had observed while in the army the prevalence of that Alpine affection in the hilly region of Virginia—on the acclivities of the Blue Ridge, where for the most part it was restricted to negroes and mulattoes. He lately, however, found it far more prevalent in lateral valleys of the Susquehanna, particularly on its tributary, the Juniata. In the Buffalo valley, at least one per cent., and in the Kishacoquillas valley two or more per cent. of the population were thus affected—among the third and fourth generations of the settlers, and, as in corresponding portions of Switzerland, chiefly among women; but while in the Alps one-twelfth of the subjects of the malady are males, its occurrence among men in these parts of our country is extremely rare. It is most frequent in narrow valleys and moist ravines. In Kishacoquillas valley, the hills of which have an altitude of about five hundred feet above the Juniata, there is a low belt, above which the disease is not often met with.

Dr. Macgowan thinks he found evidence in those valleys of incipient cretinism, as the proportion of "daft persons" is far greater than he found in other portions of his American travels. As the same conditions obtain here that are found in certain portions of Switzerland, he says that but for counteracting causes a few more generations would develop the usual concomitant of goitre—cretinism; the chief counteracting cause being the migratory character of our people. In these secluded valleys there is a great amount of inter-marrying, which contributes to physical and mental degeneracy. The imbecility observed by Dr. Macgowan was not observed among the goitrous population, but among those who are exempt from bronchocele.

Senor Navarro, Consul-General of Mexico, stated that in certain portions of Mexico goitre and cretinism were prevalent, both among the Indians and Spanish settlers.

Mr. Squier had observed goitre in Peru and in Nicaragua. Dr. Merrick spoke of its prevalence in Panama. Dr. Macgowan attributed the exemption of American Indians from goitre to their migratory habits.