Table 1.
Frequency of folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy by maternal and infant characteristics
| Folic acid use before pregnancy | Folic acid use during pregnancy | |||||
| None n = 223 | Moderate use n = 163 | High use n = 52 | None n = 103 | Moderate use n = 105 | High use n = 15 | |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Maternal age (years) | ||||||
| 18–20 | 19 (8.5) | 6 (3.7) | 2 (3.9) | 8 (7.8) | 10 (9.5) | 1 (6.7) |
| 21–24 | 60 (26.9) | 28 (17.2) | 4 (7.8) | 30 (29.1) | 26 (24.8) | 4 (26.7) |
| 25–29 | 71 (31.8) | 36 (22.1) | 15 (29.4) | 35 (30.0) | 35 (33.3) | 1 (6.7) |
| 30–34 | 36 (16.1) | 45 (27.6) | 14 (27.5) | 16 (15.5) | 14 (13.3) | 6 (46.7) |
| 35+ years | 37 (16.6) | 48 (29.5) | 16 (31.4) | 14 (13.6) | 20 (19.1) | 3 (20.0) |
| Maternal education** | ||||||
| Less than high school | 34 (15.3) | 12 (7.4) | 2 (3.9) | 17 (16.7) | 13 (12.4) | 4 (26.7) |
| High school/GED | 82 (36.9) | 28 (17.2) | 7 (13.7) | 47 (46.1) | 33 (31.4) | 2 (13.3) |
| Some college | 67 (30.2) | 42 (25.8) | 11 (21.6) | 33 (32.4) | 30 (28.6) | 4 (26.7) |
| College graduate | 24 (10.8) | 40 (24.5) | 13 (25.5) | 4 (3.9) | 19 (18.1) | 1 (6.7) |
| Graduate education | 15 (6.8) | 41 (25.2) | 18 (35.3) | 1 (1.0) | 10 (9.5) | 4 (26.7) |
| Maternal race** | ||||||
| African American | 137 (62.3) | 61 (37.4) | 18 (37.5) | 83 (81.4) | 48 (46.2) | 6 (42.9) |
| Caucasian | 72 (32.7) | 92 (56.4) | 29 (60.4) | 16 (15.7) | 49 (47.1) | 7 (50.0) |
| Asian | 4 (1.8) | 3 (1.8) | 0 (0) | 1 (1.0) | 3 (2.9) | 0 (0) |
| Native American | 1 (0.5) | 1 (0.6) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (7.1) |
| Other | 6 (2.7) | 6 (3.7) | 1 (2.1) | 2 (2.0) | 4 (3.9) | 0 (0) |
| Maternal BMI before pregnancy (kg/m2) | ||||||
| <25 | 93 (47.2) | 79 (53.0) | 30 (61.2) | 37 (40.7) | 46 (50.0) | 10 (71.4) |
| 25–29 | 39 (19.8) | 34 (22.8) | 9 (2.3) | 16 (17.6) | 21 (22.8) | 2 (14.3) |
| 30–34 | 27 (13.7) | 19 (12.8) | 5 (1.3) | 16 (17.6) | 10 (10.9) | 1 (7.1) |
| 35+ | 38 (19.3) | 17 (11.4) | 5 (1.3) | 22 (24.2) | 15 (16.3) | 1 (7.1) |
| Cigarette smoking** | ||||||
| Never smoked | 106 (47.5) | 96 (58.9) | 35 (68.6) | 54 (52.4) | 46 (43.8) | 6 (40.0) |
| Smoker | 100 44.8) | 51 (31.3) | 11 (21.6) | 42 (40.8) | 52 (49.5) | 6 (40.0) |
| Quit during pregnancy | 17 (7.6) | 16 (9.8) | 5 (9.8) | 7 (6.8) | 7 (6.7) | 3 (20.0) |
| Gestational age at delivery | ||||||
| <37 weeks | 41 (18.4) | 27 (16.8) | 6 (8.1) | 23 (22.3) | 15 (14.3) | 3 (20.0) |
| ≥37 weeks | 182 (81.6) | 135 (83.3) | 45 (12.4) | 80 (77.7) | 90 (85.7) | 12 (80.0) |
| Birth weight | ||||||
| ≤2,500 grams | 38 (17.4) | 16 (10.1) | 5 (9.8) | 19 (18.6) | 16 (15.5) | 3 (21.4) |
| >2,500 grams | 181 (82.7) | 143 (89.9) | 46 (90.2) | 83 (81.4) | 87 (84.5) | 11 (78.6) |
| Gender | ||||||
| Males | 110 (50.5) | 88 (54.7) | 23 (46.0) | 57 (55.9) | 45 (44.1) | 8 (57.1) |
| Females | 108 (49.5) | 73 (45.3) | 27 (54.0) | 45 (44.1) | 57 (55.9) | 6 (42.9) |
**
folic acid supplementation during pregnancy significantly varies by maternal or offspring characteristic and folic acid supplementation before pregnancy significantly varied by maternal or offspring characteristic (p < 0.05).