Frequency Of Folic Acid Deficiency In Women Of Childbearing Age Presenting At Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad.

BACKGROUND

Folic acid deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies among women of childbearing age. It can lead to neural tube defects, a significant cause of disability and mortality among infants. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine a folic acid deficiency in women of childbearing age in Ayub Teaching Institute, Abbottabad.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out in Ayub Teaching Institute, Abbottabad from January to June 2020. In this study, a total of 193 women of childbearing age were included through consecutive sampling.

RESULTS

In this study 193 women of childbearing age were included. Mean age was 30±4.87 years. Out of 193 patients, 56.7% were found to be anemic and 38.9%were found to have folic acid deficiency.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study concludes that the majority of women of child bearing age are anemic in our set up. Moreover, the frequency of folic acid deficiency is 38.9 % which is high.