Folic acid intake and associated factors among women 15-44 years old in Valencian (Spain)

BACKGROUND: A low folic acid (FA) intake may increase the risk of neural tu be defects (NTD). We estimated the proportion of women with a FA intake < 4 00 mu g/day, at the Valencian Region, exploring those factors associated wi th a FA intake < 400 mu g/day. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Daily FA intake was estimated for 538 women aged 15 to 44 years participants in the Nutrition survey of Valencian Region in 1994, and factors associated with an intake lower than 400 mu g/day were analyze d. RESULTS: The average FA intake was 392 mu g/day. A 57.6% of women presented a low FA intake. A higher prevalence of low FA intake was found among youn gest women with low sports practice, low body mass index and early menarche . CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of women with a FA intake considered at risk for NTD was observed, particularly among the youngest with low sports prac tice.