Calibration of dietary intake measurements in prospective cohort studies

To evaluate the accuracy of dietary intake measurements in prospective cohort studies on diet, it is generally proposed that substudies be conducted to 1) correct relative risk estimates for biases due to measurement error, and 2) account for statistical power losses when estimating the sample size requirements of the cohort. Usually the substudy takes the form of a "validity" study, based on a small group of volunteers and using repeated daily food consumption records as reference measurements. In this methodological review, the authors conclude that when relative risks are estimated for scaled, absolute intake differences rather than for quantile categories, a "calibration" study based on only a single day's food intake record (but generally on a larger number of subjects) can provide sufficient reference information to meet objectives 1 and 2. A major advantage of calibration studies based on this single-day-per-subject design is that they can be conducted on a representative sample of cohort participants more easily than validity studies in which reference measurements are repeated.