Abstract

Background: Folic acid deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies among women of childbearing age. This deficiency can lead to neural tube defects, which are fatal for infants. This study was done to assess the knowledge of folate deficiency and use of folic acid among women of child bearing age in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 1458 women aged 18-60 years in the 32 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (population: 28 160 273). A questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate awareness about folic acid.
Results: In total, 64.1% of women used folic acid, 27.9% of women did not use it, and the remaining 8% did not remember using it. High willingness (84.2%) to use folic acid was reported. Women were very aware of defects and the major sources of information about folic acid were gynecology clinics (62.1%) and electronic media (31%). No significant differences (p value= 0.023) were reported among women of different regions. However, education level and occupation were related to significantly improved awareness. Material status and presence of pregnancy also affected the level of awareness.
Conclusion: The findings indicate the importance of improving the awareness level of the importance of folic acid supplementation among women of childbearing age in Saudi Arabia. Promoting the advantage of taking folic acid during the ideal time to reduce incidents of NTD through proper education provided to women by health-care providers is suggested.

Key words: Folate deficiency; knowledge; folic acid; women of childbearing age; Saudi Arabia