ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the folate intake level of early pregnant women and its influencing factors in Chengdu. METHODS: The healthy singleton pregnant women with 8-14 weeks of pregnancy in an obstetrical clinic of maternal-and-child health care institution in Chengdu in 2017 were selected as the object of the study. The basic information of pregnant women was collected by questionnaire survey, and the dietary intake of all kinds of food in early pregnancy was collected by 3-day 24-hour dietary recall method, and the average daily intake of folate was calculated according to China Food Composition(2018). A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect the use of folic acid supplements in pregnant women in the past one month, and the average daily intake of folic acid supplements was calculated. According to the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes(2013), the folate intake <600 µg DFE/d was defined as insufficient, and folic acid supplements intake ≥1000 µg/d was defined as excessive. The influencing factors of folate intake were analyzed by binary Logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 1579 valid samples were included. The average folate intake of early pregnant women in Chengdu was 865.8(778.6, 1461.0) µg DFE/d, the average dietary folate intake was 145.4(101.9, 200.7) µg/d, and the average folic acid supplements intake was 400.0(400.0, 800.0) µg/d. The rate of insufficient intake of folate in early pregnancy was 12.1%, and the rate of excessive intake of folic acid supplements was 13.0%. Compared with the primiparous group, the risk of insufficient folate intake was higher in the multiparous group(OR=1.708, 95%CI 1.175-2.482). Compared with the low income group, risk of insufficient folate intake in the medium and high income group was lower(OR=0.660, 95%CI 0.477-0.913); taking folic acid supplements before pregnancy has a lower risk of overdose of folic acid than the non-taking group(OR=0.594, 95%CI 0.423-0.835). CONCLUSION: The phenomenon of insufficient intake of total folate and excessive intake of folic acid supplements coexists among women in early pregnancy in Chengdu, and the rational use of folic acid supplements is worthy of attention.