Low Prevalence of Folic Acid Supplementation during Pregnancy: A Multicenter Study in Vietnam.

Ha Ha,Binns Binns,Nguyen Nguyen,Zhao Zhao,Lee Lee,Pham Pham,Chu Chu

doi:10.3390/nu11102347

Abstract

Periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation is recommended to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), but little information is known about its use in Vietnam. It is important that FA supplements start to be taken when planning a pregnancy and continued through the first trimester to prevent NTDs, as the neural tube closes in the first month of pregnancy. However, FA supplementation in Vietnam is usually recommended to commence from the first antenatal visit, which is usually at 16 weeks, and very few women take FA before their first visit. This multicenter study aimed to determine the prevalence of FA supplement use and associated maternal characteristics in Vietnam. FA supplementation was assessed in 2030 singleton pregnant women between 2015 and 2016. In total, 654 (32.2%) women reported taking either supplements containing FA alone or multivitamins containing FA, and 505 (24.9%) reported correctly taking supplements containing FA alone. Women who were aged 30 years or over, had low education levels, had formal employment, and whose current pregnancy was first or unplanned were less likely to supplement with FA. Education programs are needed to encourage FA supplementation when contemplating pregnancy.

Highlights

IntroductionIt is difficult to measure folate intake from food because it exists in multiple forms of polyglutamates, which have varying levels of bioactivity and can be destroyed by sunlight, cooking and storage processes [2]
Folate has a vital role in periods of rapid cell division and growth, especially during pregnancy [1].It is difficult to measure folate intake from food because it exists in multiple forms of polyglutamates, which have varying levels of bioactivity and can be destroyed by sunlight, cooking and storage processes [2]
There were 522 (25.7%) Vietnamese pregnant women who took supplements containing Folic acid (FA) alone, while 675 (33.2%) took either supplements containing FA alone or multivitamins containing FA when the pregnancy was planned until 12 weeks of gestation

Summary

Introduction

It is difficult to measure folate intake from food because it exists in multiple forms of polyglutamates, which have varying levels of bioactivity and can be destroyed by sunlight, cooking and storage processes [2]. Folate deficiency is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies during pregnancy, as the demand for folate is increased due to fetal growth and development. This can occur if the mother’s dietary intake of folate is inadequate during pregnancy [3,4,5,6]. The cells’ ability to methylate important compounds, including DNA, proteins and lipids, may be compromised by folate deficiency, leading to impaired cellular function [7].

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion