scholarly journals Periconceptional Folate Deficiency and Implications in Neural Tube Defects

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Safi ◽  
L. Joyeux ◽  
G. E. Chalouhi
Keyword(s):  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Fetal Surgery ◽  
Folate Deficiency ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Nutritional Deficiencies ◽  
Preventive Public Health

Nutritional deficiencies are preventable etiological and epigenetic factors causing congenital abnormalities, first cause of infant mortality. Folate deficiency has a well-established teratogenic effect, leading to an increasing risk of neural tube defects. This paper highlights the most recent medical literature about folate deficiency, be it maternal or paternal. It then focuses on associated deficiencies as nutritional deficiencies are multiple and interrelated. Observational and interventional studies have all been consistent with a 50–70% protective effect of adequate women consumption of folates on neural tube defects. Since strategies to modify women’s dietary habits and vitamin use have achieved little progress, scientific as well as political effort is mandatory in order to implement global preventive public health strategies aimed at improving the alimentation of women in reproductive age, especially folic acid supplementation. Even with the recent breakthrough of fetal surgery for myelomeningocele, the emphasis should still be on prevention as the best practice rather than treatment of neural tube defects.

scholarly journals Level of Awareness and Knowledge of Folic Acid Intake among Women in the Reproductive Age in ARAR Region, Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
pp. 287-297
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Mazki Alanazi ◽  
Abdullah Juayf Alanazi ◽  
Yasir Wadi Alanazi ◽  
Muhammad Sari Alanazi ◽  
Ghada Rezk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Acid Supplementation

Background: Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects. As approximately 50% of pregnancies are unintended, women of reproductive age should be aware of the importance of folic acid. This study aims to assess the level of awareness and knowledge among childbearing female on the importance of preconception folic acid supplementation in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in Arar city. Methodology: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Arar city, Norther Saudi Arabia on included Saudi women in reproductive age. A pre-designed online questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and analyzed using statistical package for Social Sciences Program, version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). The results were displayed as counts, percentages. Appropriate statistical tests will be used for comparisons. P ≤ 0.05 is considered significant. Results: The sample consisted of 428 women in reproductive age, 60.1% aged between 30 to 40 years, 39% aged between 20 to 30 years and only 0.9% aged between 18 to 20 years old. 91.8% were married. 85% of participants reported that their doctor prescribed folic pills for them before. 95.1% think that women should take folic acid pills in pregnancy while 75.2% think that it is necessary to take folic pills pre-pregnancy. 85.3% had taken folic acid pills in previous pregnancy. 31.3% think that it should be stopped after pregnancy. 84.6% think that folate deficiency causes fetal abnormalities. Only 8.4% of studied women reported attending seminar or lecture on folic acid importance. Conclusion: The results of the current study affirmed good knowledge of folic acid supplementation usage during pregnancy among women in Arar, KSA. There was a significant association between knowledge of folic acid taking importance during pregnancy with marital status, number of children, and educational level of participants.

Changes in folic acid supplementation behaviour among women of reproductive age after the implementation of a massive supplementation programme in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 582-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jufen Liu ◽  
Lei Jin ◽  
Qinqin Meng ◽  
Lili Gao ◽  
Le Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Folic Acid ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Chinese Women ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Women Of Reproductive Age ◽  
Acid Supplementation ◽  
Low Prevalence

AbstractObjectiveTo examine changes in periconceptional folic acid supplementation behaviour among Chinese women of reproductive age after the implementation of a folic acid supplementation programme.DesignTwo cross-sectional surveys were conducted.SettingOne survey was before (2002–2004) and the other was after (2011–2012) implementation of the programme, both were conducted in two areas of China with different prevalence of neural tube defects. Information on supplementation behaviours was collected in face-to-face interviews with women early in their pregnancy.SubjectsA total of 1257 and 1736 pregnant women participated before and after the programme, respectively.ResultsThe rate of periconceptional folic acid supplementation increased from 15 % to 85 % in the high-prevalence population and from 66 % to 92 % in the low-prevalence population. However, more than half of the women began taking the supplement after learning they were pregnant. The proportion of women who began taking folic acid before their last menstrual period decreased after the programme in rural areas with both a high and low prevalence of neural tube defects.ConclusionsAlthough periconceptional folic acid supplementation among Chinese women increased substantially after the programme, supplementation was often initiated too late to be effective in preventing neural tube defects. Educational and promotional campaigns should focus on how to increase the rate of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy.

scholarly journals Gene-environment interactions in the causation of neural tube defects: folate deficiency increases susceptibility conferred by loss of Pax3 function

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 3675-3685 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Burren ◽  
D. Savery ◽  
V. Massa ◽  
R. M. Kok ◽  
J. M. Scott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Folate Deficiency ◽  
Gene Environment

scholarly journals Mengenal Spina Bifida dan Pencegahannya

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 896-903
Author(s):  
Genta Faesal Atsani ◽  
Zanetha Mauly Ilawanda ◽  
Ilma Fahira Basyir
Keyword(s):  
Spina Bifida ◽  
Birth Defects ◽  
Neural Tube ◽  
Neural Tube Defects ◽  
Congenital Abnormality ◽  
Congenital Abnormalities ◽  
Folic Acid Supplementation ◽  
Online Portal ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Developing Spinal Cord

Neural tube defects (NTD) are one of the birth defects or congenital abnormalities that occur in the brain and spine, and commonly find in newborns worldwide. Anencephaly and spina bifida are the two prevalent forms of NTD. The incidence of spina bifida happen on average 1 in 1000 cases of birth worldwide and there are 140,000 cases per year worldwide. Source searches were carried out on the online portal of journal publications as many as 20 sources from MedScape, Google Scholar and the Nation Center for Biotechnology Information / NCBI with the keywords “Neural tube defects (NTD), prevention, and spina bifida”. Spina bifida is a congenital abnormality that occurs in the womb due to a failure of closing process the neural tube during the first few weeks of embryonic development which causes the spine not completely close around the developing spinal cord nerves. NTD can ensue multifactorial conditions such as genetic, environmental, and folate deficiency. The use of folic acid supplementation starting at least 3 months before pregnancy, those are 400 mcg (0.4 mg) per day and 800 mcg per day during pregnancy can reduce the risk of developing neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Generally, spina bifida is undertaking by surgery and the regulation of patients comorbid. Public can find out prevention to avoid or reduce the risk of spina bifida so that the incidence of spina bifida can decrease along with the increasing awareness of the community regarding this disease.

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