AWARENESS OF FOLIC ACID USE AND ITS EFFECTS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS IN UKRAINE.

The aim: To evaluate the awareness of folic acid, its use and effects, general knowledge about neural tube defects among medical students in Ukraine. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted by questioning 114 fourth and fifth years' students of the Faculty of Medicine. The questionnaire contained questions about folic acid, its dietary sources, effects and periconceptional uses; spina bifida and its main symptoms. Results: Overall, 96.5% of students knew that folic acid was a vitamin and 95.6% were aware of the one natural product which had a high folate level. However, awareness of its amount in different products was insufficient. Overall, 86.8% of surveyed knew that folic acid deficiency during pregnancy caused the congenital malformations. The knowledge of the synthetic folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy was low (67.5% and 53.5% respectively). Only 10 % of women among medical students consumed folic acid regularly. Conclusions: Despite the high level of general knowledge about folic acid and its effects among medical students in Ukraine, there is a poor awareness of the pre-conception administration of folic acid, and the number of people who regularly take folic acid among the respondents was very low.