Facteurs associés à un défaut de supplémentation en acide folique pour la prévention des anomalies de fermeture du tube neural dans huit maternités parisiennes

[Factors associated with inadequate folic acid supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects in eight Parisian maternity units]

Abstract

Objectives: Despite the guidelines in effect, too few women in France receive folic acid supplementation. The principal objective of this study was to identify the factors associated with the inadequacy of this supplementation in the periconceptional period. The secondary objective was to assess women’s knowledge about the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs).

Methods: This study included 400 women and took place in 8 Parisian maternity. Folic acid supplementation was inadequate when started after the beginning of the pregnancy.

Results: Among the women questioned, 68% had inadequate folic acid supplementation. They were significantly younger (ORa= 1,8; 95% IC [1,1-2,8]), didn’t had health insurance (ORa=3,9; 95% IC [1,5-10,1]), had not studied after high school (ORa=2,9; 95% IC [1,2-6,9]) and had regular gynecological care less often than the women with adequate supplementation (ORa=3,0; 95% IC [1,6-5,6]). More than half (55.5%) had insufficient knowledge of the benefits of folic acid; the factors related to this lack of knowledge were the absence of regular gynecological care and of health insurance.

Conclusion: Individual factors associated with a lack of supplementation have been identified. These results provide health professionals and supervisors with useful information for developing strategies adapted to certain subgroups of women for better prevention of AFTN in these populations.