Study On Folic Acid Reference Standards And Influencing Factors Of Folic Acid Among Newly-married Women Before Pregnancy In Hefei

Objective To establish folic acid reference standards for newly-married women in pre-pregnancy,and to explore the influencing factors of the folic acid value during pregnancy in Hefei.Methods This study selected 2 500 newly-married women aging from 20 to 35 years,which recruited from five counties and four districts from Hefei according to the geographical distribution.We used the blood samples of participant to take folic acid test,which aimed to establish the reference standard of before pregnancy in Hefei.In addition,participants have been investigation by questionnaire,including demographics,dietary pattern,and physical examination,etc.Epidata 3.02 software sued to input the data,while analyses were performed using the SPSS 13.0.Descriptive statistical analysis were used to calculate the reference value of folic acid in serum of pregnant women,including P₃,P₅,P₁₀,P₂₀,P₃₀,P₄₀,P₅₀,P₆₀,P₇₀,P₈₀,P₉₀,P₉₅.Kruskal Walli nonparametric test was used to compare the folic acid concentrations in different population characteristics.Pearson Chi-square test was used to analyze the differences between groups.The exploratory factor analysis was used to extract the public factor in"Newly-married Women’s Dietary Pattern Questionnaire",and analyzed the reliability and validity of the questionnaire.Multivariate logistic regression models were performed to explore the relationship between newly-married women’dietary pattern before pregnancy and the level of folic acid,with adjustment of demographics,seasons,lifestyles,etc.ResultsIn our study,the results indicated that the values of serum folic acid revealed positive skew distribution,and the level of P₅,P₅₀,and P₉₅5 were 11.63nmol/L,22.50nmol/L and 45.40nmol/L,respectively.Therefore,the level of serum folic acid lower than the P₅ has been defined as low folic acid level in our study.Newly-married women with higher monthly income and BMI have lower level of serum folic acid,and the different level of serum folic acid were varies from different areas（P<0.05）.The level of serum folic acid in spring and winter among newly-married women were higher than those women in summer and autumn,while the proportion of lower folic acid revealed that spring and winter were higher than summer and autumn.All those differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）.The levels of serum folic acid in newly-married women with active smoking were relatively low,while the levels of serum folic acid in other difference lifestyles among newly-married women were not statistically significant（P<0.05）."Newly-married Women’s Dietary Pattern Questionnaire"with 15 items has good reliability and validity,including traditional pattern,animal protein pattern,nutrition pattern,and beverage pattern 4 dimensions.In traditional pattern,the higher education level,the higher score in traditional pattern among newly-married women.In animal protein pattern,the lower education level and younger,the lower score in animal protein pattern among newly-married women,however,the higher monthly income,the higher score in animal protein pattern among newly-married women.In nutrition pattern,the lower education level and younger,the lower score in nutrition pattern among newly-married women,however,the higher monthly income,the higher BMI in nutrition pattern among newly-married women.In addition,the above three dimensions of scores in Changfeng County were both lowest,including traditional pattern,animal protein pattern,and nutrition pattern.Lastly,the score in beverage pattern have significant difference in different income level and area among newly-married women（P<0.05）.The low-level of nutrition pattern was the risk factor,while the low-level and high-level beverage pattern were protective factors of lower serum folic acid among newly-married women（P<0.05）.Conclusion The low-level of serum folic acid has been defined that the level of serum folic acid among newly-married women was lower than 11.63nmol/L in Hefei area.In addition,the level of monthly income,BMI,region and season are the important influencing factors of serum folic acid level among newly-married women.The dietary patterns of newly-married women can be divided into four dimensions:traditional pattern,animal protein pattern,nutrition pattern,and beverage pattern.Moreover,the dietary patterns of newly-married women have a relationship with the serum folic acid level.