Impact of education on knowledge and use of folic acid among Saudi women

Objectives:to assess the knowledge and practice of folic acid intake and its associated factors in women aged 18 - 60 years.methodology:a cross-sectional study was carried out at king khalid university hospital, riyadh, saudi arabia. by using systematic sampling 4000 women were selected from different clinics.results:�out of 4000 women, 3702 (92%) responded. their mean (standard deviation) age was 38.6 (11.8) years. university level education status was observed in 32.9% of women. about 79.7% of study subjects were married. the distribution of parity was primigravida (17%), multigravida (44.5%) and grandmultipara (38.5%). about 58% of study subjects responded that they know about folic acid. a statistically significant association was observed between educational status of subjects and their responses related to benefits of folic acid and its presence in different types of diet. about 31.5% of married subjects were aware of need of pre-pregnancy folic acid supplementation and 51.6% of them had received folic acid supplementation during their pregnancies. the sources of information for folic acid were doctor, nurse, internet, media, friends and family members.conclusion:�educational status of saudi women was having positive impact on knowledge �and usage of �folic acid. measures could be taken to improve its usage in women of childbearing age by providing pre conception counseling at regular intervals by health care providers