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UBC Theses and Dissertations
Folate intakes and knowledge of women of childbearing age : the status in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia French, Melissa Robin
Abstract
Women capable of becoming pregnant are encouraged to increase their folate intake to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. This cross-sectional study estimated folate intake and knowledge in a sample of 148 women of childbearing age (18-45 years) living in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to determine folate knowledge and folate intake was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Folic acid fortification of bread and grain products increased folate intake by 104 + 68 ug synthetic folic acid (SFA)/day from 296 + 153 ug Dietary Folate Equivalents (DFEVday to 470 + 200 ug (DFE)/day (p < 0.001). Supplements contributed an average of 205 ± 388 ug SFA/day. Mean daily folate intake from food folate, fortified foods and supplementation was 812 + 710 ug DFE/day. Even though 85.7% of women were meeting the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR; 320 ug DFE/day) for folate, only 25.7% were meeting the recommendation (400 ug SFA/day) for women capable of becoming pregnant. Most women (94.6%) had heard of folate but only 25% were aware that folate can prevent birth defects. One quarter of women had good or very good knowledge of foods containing folate. The most common sources of information on folate were magazines/newspapers, doctors and television/radio. A lack of awareness of the importance of folic acid was the most common reason for choosing not to use folic acid supplements before pregnancy. Seventy-eight percent of women indicated that, with knowledge of the benefits of folic acid, they would be willing to take a supplement containing folic acid daily to reduce the risk of birth abnormalities. Strategies are required to increase folate intake among women and to promote the benefits of periconceptional folic acid supplementation.
Item Metadata
Title |
Folate intakes and knowledge of women of childbearing age : the status in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
2000
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Description |
Women capable of becoming pregnant are encouraged to increase their folate intake to
reduce the risk of neural tube defects. This cross-sectional study estimated folate intake and
knowledge in a sample of 148 women of childbearing age (18-45 years) living in the Lower
Mainland of British Columbia. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to determine
folate knowledge and folate intake was assessed by a validated semi-quantitative food frequency
questionnaire. Folic acid fortification of bread and grain products increased folate intake by 104
+ 68 ug synthetic folic acid (SFA)/day from 296 + 153 ug Dietary Folate Equivalents (DFEVday
to 470 + 200 ug (DFE)/day (p < 0.001). Supplements contributed an average of 205 ± 388 ug
SFA/day. Mean daily folate intake from food folate, fortified foods and supplementation was 812
+ 710 ug DFE/day. Even though 85.7% of women were meeting the Estimated Average
Requirement (EAR; 320 ug DFE/day) for folate, only 25.7% were meeting the recommendation
(400 ug SFA/day) for women capable of becoming pregnant. Most women (94.6%) had heard of
folate but only 25% were aware that folate can prevent birth defects. One quarter of women had
good or very good knowledge of foods containing folate. The most common sources of
information on folate were magazines/newspapers, doctors and television/radio. A lack of
awareness of the importance of folic acid was the most common reason for choosing not to use
folic acid supplements before pregnancy. Seventy-eight percent of women indicated that, with
knowledge of the benefits of folic acid, they would be willing to take a supplement containing
folic acid daily to reduce the risk of birth abnormalities. Strategies are required to increase folate
intake among women and to promote the benefits of periconceptional folic acid supplementation.
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Extent |
8229565 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-07-10
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0089538
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2000-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.