Survey on Mature Women's Awareness about Folic Acid : Aimed at Mothers Nurturing their Preschool-aged Children

成熟期女性の葉酸に関する認知調査 : 未就学児を養育している母親を対象として

Survey on Mature Women's Awareness about Folic Acid : Aimed at Mothers Nurturing their Preschool-aged Children

Creators Mitani Akemi

Creators Tanaka Kazuko

Creators Urayama Akimi

Creators Sase Masakatu

Creators Tanaka Makiko

The intake of folic acid by women who are able to produce children has been encouraged by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare since 2000. However, there is no trend of decrease of neural tube defects (hereafter referred as to “NTD”) related to the folic acid intake in Japan. Therefore, it cannot be said that the importance of the intake of folic acid is fully known by them. Therefore, a questionnaire was implemented with 300 mothers nurturing their preschool-aged children about the awareness of folic acid. As a result, 68.7% of them knew that folic acid is a kind of vitamin, 69.3% of them knew its effect of preventing congenital abnormalities, and 64.0% of them knew that, in order to prevent congenital abnormalities, it is necessary to have an intake of folic acid before pregnancy. Of the women who partook in this study, 72.3% had taken a folic acid supplement in the past, and 58% of them had reported to have obtained information of folic acid. Therefore, they all had a good understanding of folic acid. However, only 24.7% of them knew that it can be better absorbed by the body in supplement form. Therefore, it cannot be said that they were well enough informed of the characteristic of its absorption by the body and the significance of taking it in supplement form

2000年より厚生労働省により妊娠可能女性への葉酸摂取が推奨されている。しかしながら葉酸摂取の有無と関係する我が国の神経管閉鎖障害(NTD

[ISSN]2189-4825