Relative Validity and Reproducibility of a Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire among Urban Iranians

authors:

avatar Maryam Nouri 1 , avatar Shohreh Ghazizahedi 1 , avatar Seyed Amir Reza Mohajeri 1 , avatar Abdolreza Norouzy 1 , avatar Mohsen Nematy 1 , * , avatar Neda Shalaey 1 , avatar Mohammad Safarian 1 , avatar Habibollah Esmaily 2 , avatar Elham Sabouri 1 , avatar Niloofar Rajaei 1 , avatar Ali Tarighat-Esfanjani 3 , avatar Zahra Noroozi 3 , avatar Mina Amin 3 , avatar Masoud Avari 3 , avatar Elham Rezaei 4 , avatar Seyed Ehsan Hoseinzadeh Hoseini 5 , avatar Mina Hajihosein 6 , avatar Ali Azimi 7 , avatar Amir Reza Razavi 8

Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran
Health Sciences Research Center, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Nutrition Research Center, Faculty of Nutrition and food sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran
Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran
Department of Medical Informatics, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran

how to cite: Nouri M , Ghazizahedi S , Mohajeri S A R , Norouzy A , Nematy M , et al. Relative Validity and Reproducibility of a Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire among Urban Iranians. J Health Rep Technol. 2017;3(1):e74185. 

Abstract

The contribution of dietary factors to the development and prevention of non-communicable diseases is being increasingly recognized, and worldwide, the concern about chronic diseases is growing rapidly. There is a lack of a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) encompassing all kinds of foods for Iranians. This cross-sectional study aims to describe the relative validity and reproducibility of the FFQ used for assessing nutrient intakes of Iranian urban population. One hundred thirteen subjects aged 20–69 years from five major cities of Iran participated in this study. The dietary intake was assessed by a semi-quantitative FFQ involving 160 Iranian food items. The participants were asked to complete two FFQs (at the first and fourth months of the study) and three-day food records every month. Two blood and 24-h urine samples were collected at fifth and sixth months. The highest correlation coefficient in all FFQs was for fat (r = 0.669; p < 0.001) and the lowest for fiber (r = 0.331; p = 0.001). The Pearson correlation coefficients between nutrient intake estimated by the average of the two FFQs and the average of the three-day food records ranged from 0.03 to 0.27. The Pearson correlation coefficients between serum and urine biomarkers and nutrient intake estimated by the average of the two FFQs ranged from −0.34 to 0.47. Bland and Altman analyses showed fairly good agreement between the average of the FFQs and three-day food records for energy, fat, and potassium intakes. The obtained results indicate a reasonable validity of the FFQ considering the energy, fat, and potassium intake evaluation and good reproducibility over a 6- month period.

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