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Relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire for pregnant women
Bryna Shatenstein1, Hairong Xu, Zhong-Cheng Luo
1Département de nutrition, Université de Montréal, and Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Purpose:
Pregnant women's diets should be monitored to ensure adequacy, but few studies have assessed the validity of dietary assessment tools among pregnant women. We examined the relative validity of a self-administered, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) adapted for use in the International Trial of Antioxidants in the Prevention of Preeclampsia for assessing usual diet during pregnancy.
Methods:
A subsample (n=107) was recruited for the FFQ validation study, and provided three days of nonconsecutive three-day food records (3D-FRs) following completion of the FFQ.
Results:
Mean ± standard deviation (median) energy intakes (kcal/kJ) from the FFQ and mean of 3D-FRs were 1963 ± 610 (1860)/8219 ± 2554 (7787) and 2320 ± 607 (2354)/9713 ± 2541 (9856), respectively. Spearman correlation coefficients between unadjusted FFQ and 3D-FRs nutrients were positive (rS ranged from 0.17 for iron to 0.49 for folate) and were generally statistically significant (0.05
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the FFQ is a relatively valid instrument for determining usual diet in pregnant women.
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