scholarly journals Folate Status of Reproductive Age Women and Neural Tube Defect Risk: The Effect of Long-Term Folic Acid Supplementation at Doses of 140 µg and 400 µg per Day

Nutrients ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola A. Hursthouse ◽  
Andrew R. Gray ◽  
Jody C. Miller ◽  
Meredith C. Rose ◽  
Lisa A. Houghton
Keyword(s):  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defect ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Acid Supplementation ◽  
Folate Status ◽  
Reproductive Age Women

scholarly journals Level of Awareness and Knowledge of Folic Acid Intake among Women in the Reproductive Age in ARAR Region, Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
pp. 287-297
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Mazki Alanazi ◽  
Abdullah Juayf Alanazi ◽  
Yasir Wadi Alanazi ◽  
Muhammad Sari Alanazi ◽  
Ghada Rezk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Acid Supplementation

Background: Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects. As approximately 50% of pregnancies are unintended, women of reproductive age should be aware of the importance of folic acid. This study aims to assess the level of awareness and knowledge among childbearing female on the importance of preconception folic acid supplementation in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in Arar city. Methodology: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Arar city, Norther Saudi Arabia on included Saudi women in reproductive age. A pre-designed online questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and analyzed using statistical package for Social Sciences Program, version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). The results were displayed as counts, percentages. Appropriate statistical tests will be used for comparisons. P ≤ 0.05 is considered significant. Results: The sample consisted of 428 women in reproductive age, 60.1% aged between 30 to 40 years, 39% aged between 20 to 30 years and only 0.9% aged between 18 to 20 years old. 91.8% were married. 85% of participants reported that their doctor prescribed folic pills for them before. 95.1% think that women should take folic acid pills in pregnancy while 75.2% think that it is necessary to take folic pills pre-pregnancy. 85.3% had taken folic acid pills in previous pregnancy. 31.3% think that it should be stopped after pregnancy. 84.6% think that folate deficiency causes fetal abnormalities. Only 8.4% of studied women reported attending seminar or lecture on folic acid importance. Conclusion: The results of the current study affirmed good knowledge of folic acid supplementation usage during pregnancy among women in Arar, KSA. There was a significant association between knowledge of folic acid taking importance during pregnancy with marital status, number of children, and educational level of participants.

Drug and Environmental Factors Associated with Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Part II: Improvement with Folic Acid

1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 947-961 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale P Lewis ◽  
Don C Van Dyke ◽  
Phyllis J Stumbo ◽  
Mary J Berg
Keyword(s):  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defect ◽  
Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes ◽  
Effective Dosage ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Acid Supplementation ◽  
Adverse Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To provide a comprehensive review of periconceptional folic acid supplementation and factors affecting folate supplementation trials. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was conducted through December 1997. Additional sources were obtained from Current Contents and citations from the references obtained. Search terms included folate, folic acid, neural tube defect, spina bifida, and anencephaly. STUDY SELECTION: Relevant animal and human studies examining the effects of folate were reviewed. DATA EXTRACTION: Data collected included: type of study, folate dosing, dietary folate intake, serum and red blood cell folate concentrations, type of defect(s) studied, vitamin usage, parental risk factors, factors affecting trial results. DATA SYNTHESIS: Nine key factors have been identified that affect outcomes of folic acid supplementation trials. Daily doses of 0.8 mg decreased the occurrence and doses of 4 mg decreased the recurrence of neural tube defects in randomized clinical trials. Since lower folic acid doses were effective in nonrandomized trials, research is needed to determine the lowest effective dosage. Other benefits involving pregnancy outcome are suggested. CONCLUSIONS: Women of childbearing age should take a daily folic acid supplement to reduce the risk of pregnancies resulting in infants with a neural tube defect and other potential adverse pregnancy outcomes. Further health benefits from folic acid supplementation are reviewed in Part III of this series.

Changes in folic acid supplementation behaviour among women of reproductive age after the implementation of a massive supplementation programme in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 582-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jufen Liu ◽  
Lei Jin ◽  
Qinqin Meng ◽  
Lili Gao ◽  
Le Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Chinese Women ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Women Of Reproductive Age ◽  
Acid Supplementation ◽  
Low Prevalence

AbstractObjectiveTo examine changes in periconceptional folic acid supplementation behaviour among Chinese women of reproductive age after the implementation of a folic acid supplementation programme.DesignTwo cross-sectional surveys were conducted.SettingOne survey was before (2002–2004) and the other was after (2011–2012) implementation of the programme, both were conducted in two areas of China with different prevalence of neural tube defects. Information on supplementation behaviours was collected in face-to-face interviews with women early in their pregnancy.SubjectsA total of 1257 and 1736 pregnant women participated before and after the programme, respectively.ResultsThe rate of periconceptional folic acid supplementation increased from 15 % to 85 % in the high-prevalence population and from 66 % to 92 % in the low-prevalence population. However, more than half of the women began taking the supplement after learning they were pregnant. The proportion of women who began taking folic acid before their last menstrual period decreased after the programme in rural areas with both a high and low prevalence of neural tube defects.ConclusionsAlthough periconceptional folic acid supplementation among Chinese women increased substantially after the programme, supplementation was often initiated too late to be effective in preventing neural tube defects. Educational and promotional campaigns should focus on how to increase the rate of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy.

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