SEHB folic acid survey report

Department of Public Health Medicine. South Eastern Health Board (SEHB).

dc.contributor.author	Department of Public Health Medicine. South Eastern Health Board (SEHB).
dc.date.accessioned	2016-01-06T15:05:24Z	en
dc.date.available	2016-01-06T15:05:24Z	en
dc.date.issued	1999-01	en
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10147/592997	en
dc.description	In recent years research has shown that the risk of recurrence and first occurrence of neural tube defects (NTD) can be greatly reduced by increased intake of folic acid before pregnancy. In 1992, the Public Health Service in the United States1 recommended that all women who are capable of becoming pregnant should consume 400mcg of folic acid daily. Similar recommendations were made by the UK Department of Health.2 In 1993, the Irish Department of Health informed health boards and general practitioners of the importance of folic acid in the prevention of NTD; it also published leaflets for the public on folic acid including advice on food sources rich in folic acid. Since then, there has been concern that few women of childbearing age are aware of these recommendations. Studies in the United States3 and the UK4in the early 1990's showed low knowledge and uptake of folic acid peri-conceptually. A similar situation prevails in Ireland where studies 5,6,7 have shown peri-conceptual use of folic acid as low as 5%. These findings have led to debates in many countries including Ireland, on the merits of different methods to increase the peri-conceptual use of folic acid including mandatory fortification of staple foodstuffs with folic acid. This policy has been adopted by the United States.	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Public Health	en
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.subject	PREGNANCY	en
dc.subject	WOMEN'S HEALTH	en
dc.subject	FOLIC ACID	en
dc.subject.other	PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT	en
dc.subject.other	HEALTH IMPROVEMENT	en
dc.title	SEHB folic acid survey report	en
dc.type	Report	en
refterms.dateFOA	2018-08-27T11:34:15Z