Abstract
Dietary record tools such as food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and food diaries (FD) are the most commonly used choices for assessing dietary intakes in most large-scale epidemiological studies. The authors developed a self-administered 360-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess dietary intakes amongst a population-based cohort in South Kerala. In the validation study (n = 460), the data were collected using FFQs that were administered on three different occasions which were then compared to 7-day food records. The intake of foods and nutrients was higher as determined by the FFQ than that assessed using food records. Spearman correlations for macro-nutrients ranged from 0.72 for protein to 0.61 for carbohydrates and for micronutrients, from 0.71 for vitamin B6 to 0.34 for magnesium. The correlation was improved with energy-adjusted nutrient intakes. On average, the exact agreement for the macronutrients ranged from 48.2% to 57.1%, and that for micronutrients ranged from 66.7% to 41.9%, with the median percentage of 49.58%. The authors conclude that the FFQ has an acceptable reproducibility, however, there was a systematic trend towards higher estimates with the FFQ for most nutrients compared to the FD records.
Highlights
In population-based epidemiologic studies, dietary intake is commonly assessed using dietary assessment methods, such as food diaries (FD), food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and 24-hour dietary recalls [1]
Factors associated with difference in daily grams of nutrient intakes from the FFQ and 7-day food diary: Regression models were multivariable, with each factor adjusted for all others (+ p < 0.05; ++ p < 0.001)
The Bland–Altman plots showed that there was a systematic trend towards higher estimates with the FFQ for certain nutrients compared with the food diary records
Summary
In population-based epidemiologic studies, dietary intake is commonly assessed using dietary assessment methods, such as food diaries (FD), food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and 24-hour dietary recalls [1]. The 24-hour recalls have been widely used, depending on the degree of between-day variability in the diet, multiple collections must be made to reflect the habitual diet This could impose a burden on participants and their economic constraints make them inapplicable for most large epidemiological studies. Due to lower accuracy, the information collected by FFQs needs to be compared with information collected by a more accurate dietary assessment method This will be a measure of the relative validity of the FFQ in comparison with a reference method such as the food diary. The study aimed to explore differences in habitual dietary intakes that were attributed by body mass index (BMI), age, gender, education and social class
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