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
. 2022 Jun 20:11:e48.
doi: 10.1017/jns.2022.32. eCollection 2022.

Preconception of folic acid supplementation knowledge among Ethiopian women reproductive age group in areas with high burden of neural tube defects: a community based cross-sectional study

Beyene Begashaw  1   2 , Zerihun Tariku  2 , Anteneh Berhane  2
Affiliations

Preconception of folic acid supplementation knowledge among Ethiopian women reproductive age group in areas with high burden of neural tube defects: a community based cross-sectional study

Beyene Begashaw et al. J Nutr Sci. .

Abstract

Periconceptional folic acid supplementation is effective in the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs). The aim of the present study was to determine the level of knowledge about the benefits of preconceptional folic acid supplementation in a sample of women of childbearing age and its associated factors. A cross-sectional community-based study design was carried out on a total of 441 women of childbearing age. Questionnaires included knowledge of preconception of folic acid supplements and socio-demographic characteristics. The χ 2 was used to compare categorical data. Multivariate logistic regression was used to isolate the predictive variables and examined individually by calculating the adjusted odds ratio. Statistical significance is declared as P < 0·05. We found that 35·1 % (n 155) knew preconceptional folic acid supplementation could prevent NTDs, and 3·8 % (n 17) knew the right time to take preconceptional folic acid supplementation and only 1·7 % (n 7) who had a history of NTDs. Attended secondary education (OR 2·7; 95 % CI 1·1, 6·0, P = 0·017), governmental employee (OR 3·5; 95 % CI 2·3, 17·8, P < 0·001), current pregnancy status (OR 3·0; 95 % CI 2·1, 4·2, P = 0·043), history of visiting the antenatal care service during pregnancy (OR 2·9; 95 % CI 1·07, 7·8, P = 0·03), history of taking folic acid supplement (OR 4·5; 95 % CI 2·9, 7·1, P < 0·001) were associated. More than half of the participant women did not know about preconception of folic acid supplements that reduce the risk of NTDs. Identification of the level of knowledge on preconception of folic acid may allow for targeted educational or other interventions to further encourage folic acid use.

Keywords: AOR, adjusted odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; FAS, folic acid supplement; Folic acid; IFAS, iron folic acid supplementation; Knowledge; NTD; NTD, neural tube defect; OR, odds ratio; Preconception.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Butterworth C & Bendich A (1996) Folic acid and the prevention of birth defects. Annu Rev Nutr 16, 73–97. - PubMed
    1. Persad VL, Van den Hof MC, Dubé JM, et al. (2002) Incidence of open neural tube defects in Nova Scotia after folic acid fortification. CMAJ 167, 241–245. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Greene ND & Copp AJ (2014) Neural tube defects. Annu Rev Neurosci 37, 221–242. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Greene NDE & Copp AJ (1981) Neural tube defects. The Lancet 318, 1290–1291. - PubMed
    1. Ibrahim Z, Ahlia S, Tsang Becky L, et al. (2016) Describing the prevalence of neural tube defects worldwide: a systematic literature review. PLoS ONE 11, e0151586. - PMC - PubMed