A simple method for assessing calcium intake in Caucasian women

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Gerontology
• Bone Health

Background:

• Osteoporosis is linked to calcium intake, with many postmenopausal women consuming insufficient amounts.
• Accurate dietary assessment methods like weighed food records are impractical for large populations.
• Simpler methods are needed to assess calcium intake in at-risk women.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simple food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for assessing calcium intake.
• To compare the FFQ's accuracy against a 4-day weighed food record in Caucasian women.
• To determine the FFQ's utility in identifying women with inadequate calcium intake for nutritional intervention.

Main Methods:

• Developed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for calcium intake assessment.
• Validated the FFQ against a 4-day weighed food record in 54 Caucasian women (aged 29-72).
• Analyzed data from women who completed both methods concurrently (Group 1) and those with a time lag (Group 2).

Main Results:

• A strong correlation (r = .79, p < .001) was observed between the FFQ and weighed food records for overall calcium intake.
• High correlation coefficients were found for both concurrent (r = .81) and delayed (r = .78) assessments.
• Similar correlations were found for postmenopausal (r = .84) and premenopausal (r = .79) women.

Conclusions:

• A short, simple food frequency questionnaire effectively ranks individuals by calcium intake adequacy.
• This validated FFQ is a practical tool for large-scale screening of calcium intake in women at risk of osteoporosis.
• The FFQ can serve as a prerequisite for targeted nutrition interventions to improve calcium balance.