Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Published in: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 6/2011

01-06-2011 | Materno-fetal Medicine

Awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid among women: a study from Turkey

Authors: Zeynep Baykan, Ahmet Öztürk, Serpil Poyrazoğlu, İskender Gün

Published in: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics | Issue 6/2011

Login to get access

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the awareness, knowledge, and behaviors relevant to folic acid intake in women aged 15–49 years.

Materials and methods

A questionnaire designed by the researchers was administered to 1,083 women who attended to family health care centers for any reason, between 1 and 15 of December 2009.

Results

Half of the women (53.7%) surveyed did not hear or read about folic acid. Women older than 35 and less-educated women were more unaware of folic acid. Out of 171 pregnant women, 81.3% (139 women) were taking/took vitamin/folic acid supplementation but only 12.2% of the users started to take supplements at least 1 month before conception. Out of 912 non-pregnant women 81 (8.9%) said they are taking any vitamin or mineral supplement. Out of the women who are not pregnant, not using a modern contraceptive method and planning to have a child at the time of the survey, only 9 (10%) were taking vitamin/folic acid. The most common information sources on folic acid were the doctors.

Conclusion

In order to improve the intake of folic acid during the recommended period, preconceptional counseling by the family doctors to inform women of childbearing age about the need to take folic acid to prevent NTDs seems to be important.
Literature
1.
Hilton JJ (2007) A comparison of folic acid awareness and intake among young women aged 18–24 years. J Am Acad Nurse Pract 19:516–522PubMedCrossRef
2.
3.
Melvin EC, George TM, Worley G, Franklin A (2000) Genetic studies in neural tube defects. Pediatr Neurosurg 32:1–9PubMedCrossRef
4.
Unusan N (2004) Assessment of Turkish women’s knowledge concerning folic acid and prevention of birth defects. Public Health Nutr 7(7):851–855PubMedCrossRef
5.
Tunçbilek E (2004) The high incidence of neural tube defects in Turkey what should be done for prevention? Turk Pediatr J 47(2):79–84
6.
Eichholzer M, Tonz O, Zimmermann R (2006) Folic acid: a public-health challenge. Lancet 367:1352–1361PubMedCrossRef
7.
Tunçbilek E, Temel E, Özalp İ, Teziç T, Köse R, Üstündağ M, Haznedaroğlu D, Kaptan H (2002) Genetic diseases. Handbook for health personnel. T.C. Ministry of Health General Directory of Health Project, T.R. Ministry of Health General Directorate of Mother and Child Health and Family Planning, Ankara
8.
Abdulrazzaq YM, Al-Gazali LI, Bener A, Hossein M, Verghese M, Dawodu A, Padmanabhan R (2003) Folic acid awareness and intake survey in the United Arab Emirates. Reprod Toxicol 17:171–176PubMedCrossRef
9.
Coll O, Pisa S, Palacio M, Quinto L, Cararach V (2004) Awareness of the use of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects n a Mediterranean area. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 115:173–177PubMedCrossRef
10.
Sayers GM, Hughes N, Scallan E, Johnson Z (1997) A survey of knowledge and use of folic acid among women of childbearing age in Dublin. J Public Health Med 19:328–332PubMed
11.
Chivu CM, Tulchinsky TH, Soar es-Weiser K, Braunstein R, Brezis M (2008) A systematic review of interventions to increase awareness, knowledge, and folic acid consumption before and during pregnancy. Am J Health Promot 22(4):237–245PubMedCrossRef
12.
Amitai Y, Fisher N, Haringman M, Meiraz H, Baram N, Leventhal A (2004) Increased awareness, knowledge and utilization of preconceptional folic acid in Israel following a national campaign. Prev Med 39:731–737PubMedCrossRef
13.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (1992) Recommendations for the use of folic acid to reduce the number of cases of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. MMWR, 41 (RR-14)
14.
Nawapun K, Phupong V (2007) Awareness of the benefits of folic acid and prevalence of the use of folic acid supplements to prevent neural tube defects among Thai women. Arch Gynecol Obstet 276:53–57PubMedCrossRef
15.
Chan AC, Van Essen P, Scott H, Haan EA, Sage L, Scott J, Gill TK, Nguyen A (2008) Folate awareness and the prevalence of neural tube defects in South Australia, 1966–2007. MJA 189:566–569PubMed
16.
Robbins JM, Hopkins SE, Mosley BS, Casey PH, Cleves MA, Hobbs CA (2006) Awareness and use of folic acid among women in the lower Mississippi delta. J Rural Health 22(3):196–203PubMedCrossRef
17.
Turgul Ö, Anlı N, Mandıracıoğlu A, Batı H, Akkol S (2009) The regional campaign for women on awareness of neural tube defects and folic acid in Narlidere, Izmir: a community-based intervention. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care 14(1):69–74PubMedCrossRef
18.
Kondo A, Yamamoto S, Inoue H, Watanabe J, Tada K, Yoshimoto N (2009) Folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects: Awareness among laywomen and healthcare providers in Japan. Congenit Anom 49:97–101CrossRef
19.
Rasmussen MM, Clemmensen D (2010) Folic acid supplementation in pregnant women. Dan Med Bull 57(1):A4134PubMed
20.
Lantz AG, Edmundson JG, Kisely SR, MacLellan DL (2010) Sources of information for the use of periconceptual folic acid. Public Health 124(4):238–240PubMedCrossRef
21.
Petrini JR, Hamner HC, Mulinare J (2008) Use of supplements containing folic acid among women of childbearing age—United States, 2007. MMWR 57:5–8
22.
Sharp GF, Naylor LA, Cai J, Hyder ML, Chandra P, Guillory VJ (2009) Assessing awareness, knowledge and use of folic acid in Kansas women between the ages of 18 and 44 years. Matern Child Health J 13(6):814–821PubMedCrossRef
23.
Garikapaty VP, Feyerharm R, Zhu B (2008) Folic acid consumption among Missouri women in the periconceptional period. Mo Med 105(6):504–509PubMed
24.
Paulik E, Császár J, Kozinszky Z, Nagymajtényi L (2009) Preconceptional and prenatal predictors of folic acid intake in Hungarian pregnant women. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 45(1):49–52CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid among women: a study from Turkey
Authors
Zeynep Baykan
Ahmet Öztürk
Serpil Poyrazoğlu
İskender Gün
Publication date
01-06-2011
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics / Issue 6/2011
Print ISSN: 0932-0067
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0711
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-010-1547-5

Other articles of this Issue 6/2011

Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 6/2011 Go to the issue

Materno-fetal Medicine

Adiponectin SNP45TG is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus

General Gynecology

Successful application of vacuum-assisted closure therapy for treatment of mastitis-associated chronic breast wounds

Materno-fetal Medicine

Obstetrical and fetal outcomes of a new management strategy in patients with intra-hepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Materno-fetal Medicine

The clinical management of hyperemesis gravidarum

General Gynecology

The effect of vaginally administered genistein in comparison with hyaluronic acid on atrophic epithelium in postmenopause

Letter to the Editor

Endometriosis presenting with hemorrhagic ascites