title: [Preconceptional use of folic acid in the region of the Kantonsspital Münsterlingen/Thurgau: has it changed over the past 10 years?].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Numerous studies have shown that the preconceptional use of folic acid prevents neural tube defects. We created a study to find out whether the preconceptional use of folic acid has improved in the past 10 years, in the area of Münsterlingen, Switzerland.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed 2 groups of patients who delivered at our Institution, namely between 2000 and 2002 (period A) involving 287 women and from 2009 to 2010 (period B) involving 305 pregnant women. We asked them whether they used folic acid by means of a standardised questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In period B significantly more women have taken folic acid preconceptionally (period A: 27.5% vs. period B: 40.7%; p=0.001). A significant increase in folic acid intake was seen in the German speaking group from period A to B (30.3% vs. 52.7%; p=0.0005), while this was not the case in the non-German speaking group (21.4% in both periods). More multiparaé women were taking folic acid compared to nulliparae. A significant increase from period A to B was noted only in the German speaking group. Unexpectedly, in nulliparae non-German speaking women, folic acid supplementation decreased from 14% to 6.1%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have found a significant increase in preconceptional folic acid supplementation from 2001 to 2010. The percentage of women taking folic acid is disappointingly low in all groups, particularly in nulliparae women of non-German ethnicity.
authors.affiliation: Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Kantonsspital Münsterlingen, Münsterlingen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Grosskopf
authors.affiliation: Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Kantonsspital Münsterlingen, Münsterlingen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brühwiler
authors.affiliation: Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Kantonsspital Münsterlingen, Münsterlingen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eggimann
authors.affiliation: Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe, Kantonsspital Frauenfeld, Frauenfeld, Switzerland.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rautenberg
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Frauenheilkunde, Inselspital Universitätsspital Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raio
mesh_terms: D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012646:Self Administration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D016903:Drug Monitoring
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid