An analysis of folic acid supplementation in women presenting for antenatal care
Autor: | Michael J. Turner, Aoife McKeating, Maria Farren, Laura Mullaney, Daniel McCartney, S. Cawley |
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Rok vydání: | 2015 |
Předmět: |
Adult
Infertility congenital hereditary and neonatal diseases and abnormalities medicine.medical_specialty Pediatrics Adolescent Prenatal care Hospitals Maternity Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences Folic Acid 0302 clinical medicine Pregnancy Surveys and Questionnaires Medicine and Health Sciences Humans Medicine 030212 general & internal medicine Folic acid supplementation neural tube defects planned pregnancy Univariate analysis 030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine business.industry Obstetrics Public health Incidence (epidemiology) Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Prenatal Care General Medicine medicine.disease Obesity Parity Dietary Supplements Female Public Health business Ireland Body mass index |
Zdroj: | Articles |
ISSN: | 1741-3850 1741-3842 |
Popis: | Background Neural tube defects (NTDs) are major congenital malformations that are potentially preventable if the woman takes periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplements. A recent report found that NTD incidence had increased in Ireland. This study examined the usage of FA supplementation in women presenting for antenatal care in a maternity hospital. Methods Women were recruited at their convenience in the first trimester. Their clinical and sociodemographic details were computerized. Maternal weight and height were measured before calculating body mass index. Detailed FA questionnaires were completed under supervision of a trained researcher. Results While 96.1% (n = 564) out of 587 reported that they took FA after they became pregnant, only 24.7% (n = 145) took it for >12 weeks preconceptionally as recommended. Only 5.7% (n = 6) of obese women took high-dose FA as recommended. On univariate analysis, the strongest predictors of preconceptional FA usage were higher maternal age, higher education and income, being married, being nulliparous, not smoking, infertility treatment and planned pregnancy. On multivariate analysis, both planned pregnancy and nulliparity were the most important predictors of preconceptional FA use. Conclusions Our study shows that current recommendations to prevent NTDs by FA supplementation pre-pregnancy are not being fully implemented in Ireland. We recommend a review of current public health policies on FA supplementation. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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