scholarly journals Reproducibility and Validity of a Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire in Men Assessed by Multiple Methods

Author(s):  
Laila Al-Shaar ◽  
Changzheng Yuan ◽  
Bernard Rosner ◽  
Stefanie B Dean ◽  
Kerry L Ivey ◽  
...  

Abstract Among 626 participants of the Men’s Lifestyle Validation Study (2011-2013), we evaluated the validity and reproducibility of a self-administered 152-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) using two 7-day dietary records (7DDRs), four automated self-administered 24-hour dietary recalls (ASA24s), four 24-hour urine samples, one doubly-labeled water measurement (repeated in 104 participants), and two fasting blood samples, collected over 15 months. Compared to 7DDRs, SFFQs underestimated energy intake, macronutrients, and sodium intake, but overestimated some micronutrients. The mean of Spearman correlation coefficients was 0.66 (range 0.38 to 0.88) between 46 energy-adjusted nutrients estimated from 7DDRs and the final SFFQ, de-attenuated for within-person variation in the 7DDRs. These deattenuated correlations were similar using ASA24s as the comparison. Relative to biomarkers, SFFQs underestimated energy, sodium, and protein intakes, and the sodium:potassium ratio. The energy-adjusted correlations between the final SFFQ and the biomarkers were slightly lower than the correlations between the SFFQ and 7DDRs. Using method of triads to calculate validity coefficients (VC), the median VC between SFFQ and true intake was 0.65 and 0.69 using 7DDRs or ASA24s as the third method. These data indicate that this SFFQ provided reasonably valid estimates for a wide range of nutrients when evaluated by multiple comparison methods.

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 2197-2206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Baeza Scagliusi ◽  
Mariana Tarricone Garcia ◽  
Ana Luiza Coutinho Indiani ◽  
Marly Augusto Cardoso

This study aimed to assess the relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed to assess food intake of schoolchildren from the Brazilian Western Amazon. The dietary intakes of 61 schoolchildren, aged between six and nine 9 years, were measured using two 24-hour dietary recalls and one FFQ, conducted with the children's, mother or guardians. Validity of the FFQ compared to the mean of the two dietary recalls was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient adjusted for attenuation and energy intake, Bland & Altman plots and evaluation of agreement levels between the two assessment methods. Energy-adjusted and deattenuated correlation coefficients ranged from -0.03 for vitamin C, to 0.93 for calcium. The mean coefficient was 0.46. The mean proportion of subjects classified within one quintile by the two methods was 66%. The Bland & Altman plots indicated good agreement for almost all nutrients, with a mean limit of agreement of 108%. These results indicate that, although there was a lack of accuracy for certain nutrients, such as vitamins A and C, the FFQ ensures reliable estimates of intake of most nutrients.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiki Watanabe ◽  
Hinako Nanri ◽  
Tsukasa Yoshida ◽  
Miwa Yamaguchi ◽  
Mayu Sugita ◽  
...  

To determine the association between geriatric disorders and dietary intake, validation of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for elderly individuals is needed. We compared energy and nutrient intakes derived from dietary records (DR) and FFQ in an elderly population and compared the data against results from middle-aged individuals (30–68 years) from a previous study. Current participants included 65 women and 78 men (65–88 years) who completed FFQ and 7-day DR in a subpopulation of the Kyoto-Kameoka study. Our FFQ was created for middle-aged individuals. To validate the FFQ, we investigated equivalent precision by comparing the correlation coefficients between the present and previous study. Median correlations for energy and nutrient intake between the DR and FFQ in the current and previous studies were 0.24 and 0.30 (p = 0.329) in women and 0.24 and 0.28 (p = 0.399) in men, respectively. The median ratio of FFQ to DR for these intakes were also similar. The accuracy and precision of the FFQ for energy and nutrient intake in elderly individuals did not differ compared with previous findings in a middle-aged population. A validation study evaluating energy and nutrient intake using recovery biomarkers is further needed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman ◽  
Walter C Willett ◽  
Rebecca Lobb ◽  
Jamie Kotch ◽  
Charles Dart ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveDiet is an important determinant of health outcomes, but physicians have few ways to identify persons with suboptimal diets. The purposes of this study were to examine the reproducibility of a short dietary assessment questionnaire (PrimeScreen) and to compare its results with those of a longer food frequency questionnaire and with plasma levels of selected nutrients.DesignEach subject completed two PrimeScreen questionnaires at an interval of 2 weeks and one full length, 131-item, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ), and had a sample of blood drawn. We compared the PrimeScreen with two reference standards, the SFFQ and plasma levels of selected nutrients.SettingA large managed care organization in New England.SubjectsA total of 160 men and women, aged 19–65 years, participated.ResultsFor foods and food groups, the mean correlation coefficient (r) was 0.70 for reproducibility and 0.61 for comparability with the SFFQ. For nutrients, the mean r was 0.74 for reproducibility and 0.60 for comparability with the SFFQ. No substantial differences were evident by sex, race, body mass index, occupation or education. Correlation coefficients for the comparison of vitamin E, β-carotene and lutein/zeaxanthin intakes from the PrimeScreen with plasma levels were 0.33, 0.43 and 0.43, respectively. These values were similar to those comparing the SFFQ with plasma levels. The median time to complete PrimeScreen was 5 min; 87% of participants required fewer than 10 min.ConclusionsA quick way to assess quality of diet among adults, PrimeScreen has adequate reproducibility and its results compare well with a longer food frequency questionnaire and biomarkers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 1337-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Nikniaz ◽  
Jafarsadegh Tabrizi ◽  
Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani ◽  
Mostafa Farahbakhsh ◽  
Sanaz Tahmasebi ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe reliability and relative validity of the short-food frequency questionnaire (SH-FFQ) used for assessing food groups and nutrient intakes of Iranian adults. Design/methodology/approach The food list used in the SH-FFQ was elaborated based on a dietary survey of a sample of 60 individuals aged between 15 and 65 years. A total of 180 subjects (93 males and 87 females) were included in the study. All participants completed two SH-FFQs with one month interval, a single 24 hours recall (24hR) and two food records for three non-consecutive days. Findings No significant differences were observed in the mean daily intakes of energy, food groups and most of the nutrients between the reference tools and the two semi-quantitative SH-FFQs (p>0.05). The mean energy-adjusted reliability coefficients for all variables were 0.54 and 0.55 in men and women. The mean energy-adjusted and deattenuated correlation coefficients for all items between the SH-FFQ and reference tools were 0.54. Also, the mean percent misclassified into opposite quartiles for all food groups and nutrients was 12.6 percent. Originality/value The designed SH-FFQ developed for the Life style Promotion Project has reasonable reliability and relative validity for food groups and nutrient in Iranian adults.


2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangzhi Xu ◽  
Michael J Dibley ◽  
Catherine D'Este

AbstractObjectives:(1) To determine the reliability and validity of a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use in epidemiological research in postmenopausal women; and (2) to compare the volume estimation (VE) and weight estimation (WE) method of administration of this questionnaire.Design:An initial list of foods was derived and modified after pre-testing in 22 subjects. Test-retest reliability was assessed in 21 subjects who had repeat administrations of the questionnaire 14 days apart (FFQ1, FFQ2). The validity of the FFQ was assessed by comparing nutrient intakes with those from a 4-day food record.Setting:Chengdu, People's Republic of China.Subjects:Twenty-two postmenopausal women (50–70 years) were recruited from The Second University Hospital, West China University of Medical Sciences, Chengdu and participated in the pre-test. Another 21 women (50–70 years) were randomly selected from the general population of all five districts of Chengdu and participated in the reliability and validity sub-studies.Results:Energy, protein, carbohydrate, magnesium and sodium intakes in this sample were less than the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for 45–70-year-old women in China. Intake of non-cooking fat was higher than the Chinese RDA. Pearson correlation coefficients and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) for reliability of the VE FFQ ranged from 0.51 to 0.85 and from 0.51 to 0.81, respectively; for the WE FFQ, they ranged from 0.22 to 0.86 and from 0.21 to 0.81. Correlation coefficients and ICCs for validity of the WE FFQ ranged from 0.36 to 0.69 and from 0.34 to 0.57, respectively; corresponding values for the VE FFQ were −0.30 to 0.65 and −0.14 to 0.65.Conclusions:Both the VE and WE FFQs were reliable and valid except for sodium intake. The VE FFQ provided more valid estimates of nutrient intakes than did the WE FFQ.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahomi Imaeda ◽  
Chiho Goto ◽  
Tae Sasakabe ◽  
Haruo Mikami ◽  
Isao Oze ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for food group intake in Japan, the reproducibility and partial validity of which were previously confirmed for nutrients. Methods A total of 288 middle-aged healthy volunteers from 11 different areas of Japan provided nonconsecutive 3-day weighed dietary records (DRs) at 3-month intervals over four seasons. We evaluated reproducibility based on the first (FFQ1) and second (FFQ2) questionnaires and their validity against the DRs by comparing the intake of 20 food groups. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (SRs) were calculated between energy-adjusted intake from the FFQs and that from the DRs. Results The intake of 20 food groups estimated from the two FFQs was mostly equivalent. The median energy-adjusted SRs between the FFQ1 and FFQ2 were 0.61 (range 0.38–0.86) for men and 0.66 (0.45–0.84) for women. For validity, the median de-attenuated SRs between DRs and the FFQ1 were 0.51 (0.17–0.76) for men and 0.47 (0.23–0.77) for women. Compared with the DRs, the proportion of cross-classification into exact plus adjacent quintiles with the FFQ1 ranged from 58 to 86% in men and from 57 to 86% in women. According to the robust Z scores and the Bland–Altman plot graphs, the underestimation errors in the FFQ1 tended to be greater in individuals with high mean levels of consumption for meat for men and for other vegetables for both men and women. Conclusion The FFQ demonstrated high reproducibility and reasonable validity for food group intake. This questionnaire is short and remains appropriate for identifying associations between diet and health/disease among adults in Japan.


Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Vioque ◽  
Manuela Garcia-de-la-Hera ◽  
Sandra Gonzalez-Palacios ◽  
Laura Torres-Collado ◽  
Leyre Notario-Barandiaran ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to examine if the short semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a reliable and valid tool to assess the diet of Spanish children aged 7–9 years. We collected data from 156 children of the birth cohort INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente (Environment and Childhood)). Children’s parents or care-givers completed a 46-item FFQ on two occasions over a 9–12-month period about the children’s diet. To explore the reproducibility of the FFQ, the nutrient and food group intake collected from the both FFQs were compared, while validity was examined by contrasting the nutrient values from the FFQs and the average of three 24-hour dietary recalls (24hDRs) taken in this period, and also with the concentration of several vitamins in the blood (carotenoids, vitamin D and α-tocopherol). Pearson and de-attenuated correlation coefficients were calculated. The average correlation coefficients for nutrient intake’s reproducibility was 0.41, ranging from 0.25 (calcium) to 0.65 (β-carotene), and for food group intake was 0.45, ranging from 0.18 (cereals) to 0.68 (sweetened beverages). Correlation coefficients slightly improved when we compared energy-adjusted intakes. The average correlation coefficients for validity against 24hDRs was 0.34 for energy-adjusted intakes, and 0.39 when de-attenuation coefficients were used. The validity coefficients against the blood concentrations of vitamins were 0.38 for β-cryptoxanthin, 0.26 for lycopene, 0,23 for α-carotene and 0.15 for β-carotene, all of them statistically significant (p < 0.05). This study suggests that our brief FFQ is a suitable tool for the dietary assessment of a wide range of nutrients and food groups in children 7–9 years, despite the low to moderate reproducibility and validity observed for some nutrients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Márcia Oliveira MASCARENHAS ◽  
Rita de Cássia Ribeiro SILVA ◽  
Maria Ester Pereira Conceição MACHADO ◽  
Carlos Antonio de Souza Teles SANTOS ◽  
Dirce Maria Lobo MARCHIONI ◽  
...  

Objective: This study assessed the validity of a Food Frequency Questionnaire used to assess food intake in adolescents in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Methods: Seventy adolescents enrolled in public schools aged 11 to 17 years participated in this study. The dietary intake of the adolescents was assessed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire and the mean value of three-day food record, used as the reference method. The mean (and standard deviation) energy and nutrient intakes estimated from the Food Frequency Questionnaire and food records were calculated. The paired Student's t test was used to determine differences between the data. Results: Pearson's correlation coefficient and Kappa statistics were used to measure the strength of the association between the two instruments. There was variation in the crude unadjusted (r=0.61-0.73) and deattenuated (r=0.33-0.99) Pearson correlation coefficients. After adjusting for energy, the crude and deattenuated coefficients ranged from r=0.53-0.81 and r=0.27-0.99, respectively. The intake of energy and most nutrients were found to be adequate, except for fiber (r=0.27) and calcium (r=0.33), which showed a weak correlation. Kappa statistics showed good correlation between all values varying from r=0.47 to 0.73. Conclusion: It is considered that an average r value greater than 0.40 indicates a good correlation, the results obtained indicate the good ability of the Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess individuals according to their usual intake of most nutrients.


2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
LF Masson ◽  
G MCNeill ◽  
JO Tomany ◽  
JA Simpson ◽  
HS Peace ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To compare different statistical methods for assessing the relative validity of a self-administered, 150-item, semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 4-day weighed diet records (WR).Design:Subjects completed the Scottish Collaborative Group FFQ and carried out a 4-day WR. Relative agreement between the FFQ and WR for energy-adjusted nutrient intakes was assessed by Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients, the percentages of subjects classified into the same and opposite thirds of intake, and Cohen's weighted kappa.Subjects:Forty-one men, mean age 36 (range 21-56) years, and 40 women, mean age 33 (range 19-58) years, recruited from different locations in Aberdeen, Scotland.Results:Spearman correlation coefficients tended to be lower than Pearson correlation coefficients, and were above 0.5 for 10 of the 27 nutrients in men and 17 of the 27 nutrients in women. For nutrients with Spearman correlation coefficients above 0.5, the percentage of subjects correctly classified into thirds ranged from 39 to 78%, and weighted kappa values ranged from 0.23 to 0.66.Conclusions:Both Spearman correlation coefficients and weighted kappa values are useful in assessing the relative validity of estimates of nutrient intake by FFQs. Spearman correlation coefficients above 0.5, more than 50% of subjects correctly classified and less than 10% of subjects grossly misclassified into thirds, and weighted kappa values above 0.4 are recommended for nutrients of interest in epidemiological studies.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1163
Author(s):  
Suzana Shahar ◽  
Mohd Razif Shahril ◽  
Noraidatulakma Abdullah ◽  
Boekhtiar Borhanuddin ◽  
Mohd Arman Kamaruddin ◽  
...  

Measuring dietary intakes in a multi-ethnic and multicultural setting, such as Malaysia, remains a challenge due to its diversity. This study aims to develop and evaluate the relative validity of an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in assessing the habitual dietary exposure of The Malaysian Cohort (TMC) participants. We developed a nutrient database (with 203 items) based on various food consumption tables, and 803 participants were involved in this study. The output of the FFQ was then validated against three-day 24-h dietary recalls (n = 64). We assessed the relative validity and its agreement using various methods, such as Spearman’s correlation, weighed Kappa, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland–Altman analysis. Spearman’s correlation coefficient ranged from 0.24 (vitamin C) to 0.46 (carbohydrate), and almost all nutrients had correlation coefficients above 0.3, except for vitamin C and sodium. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from −0.01 (calcium) to 0.59 (carbohydrates), and weighted Kappa exceeded 0.4 for 50% of nutrients. In short, TMC’s FFQ appears to have good relative validity for the assessment of nutrient intake among its participants, as compared to the three-day 24-h dietary recalls. However, estimates for iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C should be interpreted with caution.


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