Validation and Comparison of Nutrient Intakes from Two Dietary Questionnaires Developed for the Multiethnic Cohort...

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Dietary Assessment Methods
• Public Health Nutrition

Background:

• Quantitative food frequency questionnaires (QFFQs) are vital for large cohort studies, but their temporal updates are rarely assessed.
• Understanding the impact of QFFQ evolution on dietary intake data is crucial for longitudinal research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare nutrient intake estimates from a baseline QFFQ and an updated 10-year QFFQ.
• To evaluate these QFFQ estimates against 24-hour dietary recalls (24HDRs) in a multiethnic cohort.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 352 participants from five racial/ethnic groups in the Multiethnic Cohort Study.
• Participants completed two QFFQs (baseline and 10-year updated) and three 24HDRs.
• Nutrient intakes were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficients, adjusting for energy intake.

Main Results:

• Correlations between the 10-year QFFQ and 24HDRs (average 0.45) were slightly higher than the baseline QFFQ (average 0.41).
• After energy adjustment, correlations improved for both QFFQs (0.57 and 0.58, respectively).
• High correlations (average 0.73) were observed between the two QFFQs.

Conclusions:

• Updated QFFQs demonstrate comparable validity to older versions and 24HDRs for assessing nutrient intake.
• QFFQ updates accounting for food supply changes can enhance dietary assessment in diverse cohort studies.
• The findings support the use of updated QFFQs for improved accuracy in nutritional epidemiology.