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  • Title: Awareness of the role of folic acid, dietary folate intake and plasma folate concentration in Japan.
    Author: Kondo A, Kamihira O, Shimosuka Y, Okai I, Gotoh M, Ozawa H.
    Journal: J Obstet Gynaecol Res; 2005 Apr; 31(2):172-7. PubMed ID: 15771645.
    Abstract:
    AIM: To investigate awareness of the role of folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects, dietary intake of folate, and plasma folate concentration. METHODS: Postal questionnaires were collected from 1190 lay female subjects in three different groups and from seven groups of 3067 health-care providers. Dietary folate was investigated by assessing food frequency charts that were kept for 3 days by 245 women, and plasma folate was assessed by analyzing the blood serum of 194 women. RESULTS: Less than 15% of citizens and mothers who had live births knew that there was a link between folic acid and neural tube defects. The exception was with myelodysplastic families, in which awareness was 92%. Awareness among health-care professionals was generally low. The highest level was found in obstetricians-gynecologists (76%) and the lowest in nurses (12%). Dietary folate intake and plasma concentration were highest in pregnant women (356 microg/day and 11.9 ng/mL) and the lowest in student nurses (217 microg/day and 6.8 ng/mL). When the recommended dietary allowance of folate in Japan is taken into consideration, 22% of the non-pregnant women and 71% of the pregnant women did not fulfill the recommended dietary allowance. CONCLUSIONS: Information on the role of periconceptional intake of folic acid is not sufficiently disseminated to young women and health-care professionals alike. Pregnant women should be repeatedly recommended to take folic acid supplements of 400 microg/day.
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