Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Feb;12(1):78-84.
doi: 10.4162/nrp.2018.12.1.78. Epub 2018 Jan 22.

Awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid among non-pregnant Korean women of childbearing age

Min Ji Kim  1 , Jihyun Kim  1 , Eun Joung Hwang  1 , YoonJu Song  2 , Heon Kim  3 , Taisun Hyun  1
Affiliations

Awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid among non-pregnant Korean women of childbearing age

Min Ji Kim et al. Nutr Res Pract. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Background/objectives: Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy is known to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. The purposes of this study were to investigate the awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid supplements along with their associated factors among non-pregnant Korean women of childbearing age.

Subjects/methods: From August 2012 to March 2013, 704 women aged 19-45 years completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding their awareness, knowledge, and use of folic acid as well as questions to identify risk of inadequate folate intake.

Results: Approximately 67% of women reported that they had heard of folic acid, and 23.7% had knowledge of both the role of folic acid in preventing birth defects and appropriate time for taking folic acid supplements to prevent birth defects. However, only 9.4% of women took folic acid supplements at the time of the survey. Women aged 19-24 years, unmarried women, and women who had never been pregnant were less likely to be aware and knowledgeable of folic acid or take folic acid supplements. In addition, women at high risk of inadequate folate intake were less likely to take folic acid supplements. In a multivariate analysis, women aged 19-24 years, women with a high school diploma or lower education level, and unmarried women were less likely to be aware and have knowledge of folic acid. The percentage of women taking folic acid supplements was significantly higher among knowledgeable women than among unknowledgeable women.

Conclusions: These results support our hypothesis that women with knowledge of folic acid are more likely to take folic acid supplements. Therefore, educational programs or campaigns to improve knowledge regarding the importance of folic acid and to promote consumption of folic acid supplements as well as folate-rich foods are needed to target young, less educated, and unmarried women.

Keywords: Folic acid; awareness; dietary supplements; knowledge; women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors declare no potential conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Percentage of women taking folic acid supplements at the time of the survey. 1)Women who knew both the role of folic acid in preventing birth defects and appropriate time to take folic acid. ***P < 0.001 by chi-square test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wallingford JB, Niswander LA, Shaw GM, Finnell RH. The continuing challenge of understanding, preventing, and treating neural tube defects. Science. 2013;339:1222002. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wolff T, Witkop CT, Miller T, Syed SB U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Folic acid supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects: an update of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150:632–639. - PubMed
    1. Recommendations for the use of folic acid to reduce the number of cases of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. MMWR Recomm Rep. 1992;41:1–7. - PubMed
    1. Gomes S, Lopes C, Pinto E. Folate and folic acid in the periconceptional period: recommendations from official health organizations in thirty-six countries worldwide and WHO. Public Health Nutr. 2016;19:176–189. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al-Wassia H, Shah PS. Folic acid supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects: promotion and use. Nutr Diet Suppl. 2010;2:105–116.