Folate deficiency and utilization of folic acid fortified flour among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Kenya, 2015.
Pan Afr Med J
; 28(Suppl 1): 8, 2017.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30197735
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
in 2012, the Government of Kenya amended the Food, Drug and Chemical Substances Act to make the fortification of maize and wheat flour with folic acid mandatory. We assessed folate deficiency, awareness and use of folic acid fortified flour among pregnant women receiving antenatal care (ANC) at a clinic at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Kenya, 2015.METHODS:
we conducted a cross-sectional survey at Pumwani Maternity Hospital between October and November 2014. We enrolled pregnant women who received ANC and interviewed them using a semi-structured questionnaire after obtaining informed consent. Blood samples were collected from all study participants and serum folate level was analyzed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Folate deficiency was defined as serum folate of < 10nmols/L and borderline folate deficiency was defined as serum folate of between 10nmols/L and 15nmols/L.RESULTS:
among the 247 study participants, two (1%) had folate deficiency. One hundred and seventy-nine (73.4%) had heard about folic acid, but only 56 (23%) had heard about folic acid fortified flour. Overall, 198 (80%) study participants consumed fortified brands of maize flour and 205 (84%) consumed fortified brands of wheat flour; only four (2%) and two (1%) of study participants consumed specific brands of maize and wheat flour respectively because they were fortified.CONCLUSION:
the prevalence of folate deficiency was low and this may have been because of the availability of fortification programs. Although there was limited knowledge of fortified flour, utilization was high. The Kenyan Ministry of Health should enforce implementation of the legislation on maize flour and wheat flour fortification by all milling industries.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Cuidado Pré-Natal
/
Farinha
/
Ácido Fólico
/
Deficiência de Ácido Fólico
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article