An Evaluation of Awareness, Knowledge, and Use of Folic Acid and Dietary Folate Intake among Non-Pregnant Women of Childbearing Age and Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study from Turkey

KARAÇİL ERMUMCU M. Ş., Mengi Celik O., Acar Tek N.

ECOLOGY OF FOOD AND NUTRITION, cilt.60, sa.1, ss.101-115, 2021 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 60 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2021
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/03670244.2020.1807344
  • Dergi Adı: ECOLOGY OF FOOD AND NUTRITION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Anthropological Literature, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Environment Index, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Geobase, MEDLINE
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.101-115
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Folic acid, awareness, knowledge, dietary folate intake, NEURAL-TUBE DEFECTS, PERICONCEPTIONAL USE, SUPPLEMENTATION, NUTRITION, DISEASES, TRENDS, RISK
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study was carried out to evaluate awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid and dietary folate intake among non-pregnant women of childbearing age and pregnant women. A cross-sectional study was completed with 1442 women (1106 non-pregnant and 336 pregnant) in Ankara, Turkey. The individuals' awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid were questioned and food consumption were taken. More than two-thirds of the non-pregnant and pregnant women had heard of folic acid (77.2% and 89.0%, respectively). The pregnant women (53.9%) knew more that folic acid should be used before conception in order to prevent congenital anomalies than non-pregnant women (41.4%). It was found that 70.2% of the pregnant women and only 15.1% of the non-pregnant women used folic acid supplementation. The pregnant women (1368.4 mcg; 330.4 mcg) significantly had higher folic acid and dietary folate intake than non-pregnant women (29.6 mcg; 289.3 mcg) (p< .01). Despite many public health campaigns, awareness, knowledge, and appropriate use of folic acid are still inadequate and not at the desired level in women of childbearing age.