An effective dietary survey framework for the assessment of total dietary arsenic intake in Bangladesh: Part-A—FFQ design

Abstract

The accurate assessment of dietary intake patterns is important for the determination of total dietary arsenic (As) exposure in As-contaminated regions of Bangladesh. Food intake questionnaires are a common means of assessing food intake. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was designed to assess the daily intake of frequently consumed food items and was successfully implemented to assess dietary patterns and intake of the rural populations in 18 villages from three Districts of Bangladesh (Comilla, Manikganj Sadar, and Munshiganj). The FFQ presented in this paper comprises a complete set of tools which allowed not only collection of information on dietary patterns but also information on the spatial characteristics of the landscape, socio-demographic indicators, and geographic locations of the identified environmental media of the contaminants, which resulted in As exposure to humans. The FFQ was designed in three sections: (1) general household information, (2) household water and rice information, and (3) individual dietary intake of other foods. The dietary intake of other food was then further subdivided into five different food subgroups: (i) grain intake, (ii) protein intake, (iii) fruit intake (iv), vegetable intake, and (v) dal (pulse) intake. During the design and development of the FFQ, emphasis was given to the source of food, the frequency (day/week/month) of consumption, and the daily amount of food consumed by each adult male, adult female, and child to accurately determine the dietary pattern and intake of arsenic in the rural population of Bangladesh.