Awareness of folic acid deficiency associated neural tube defect among females: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Neural tube defects are major cause of infant mortality and disability. Its occurrence has been linked to folic acid deficiency during pregnancy. Awareness of this relationship is significant to adopt appropriate measures to prevent them. The study was carried out to assess the level of this awareness among reproductive-age female of Karachi. The survey based study were designed to assess respondent’s knowledge about folic acid and neural tube defects. Sample (500) was divided into two groups. Group A belong to without any history of NTD while Group B belonged to positive family history of NTD. Both group comprised of 250 respondents. The result shows that the level of awareness about the role of FA in prevention of neural NTD in Group B was high as compare to Group A. There was close association between knowledge of FA and socio demographic variables. Level of awareness about the role of FA in prevention of neural NTD among group A was low as compare to group B. There is need to enhance awareness to ensure that populations at risk benefit from research.