BackgroundA 50-item self-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed for French adults, to assess the intake of energy, 10 macronutrients, 11 vitamins, and 11 minerals, and to be used in the context of a medical consultation.ObjectiveTo assess the repeatability and relative validity of this FFQ compared to a 7-day diet record (7-DR).DesignA total of 54 and 100 French adults were included in the repeatability and validation studies, respectively. Repeatability was assessed using two FFQs, the second carried out 3 weeks after the first. In the validation study, subjects first completed the FFQ, then the 7-DR the following week. Energy and nutrient intakes were compared using Pearson correlation. The degree of misclassification by the FFQ, compared to the 7-DR, was calculated by a contingency table of quintiles. Bland–Altman plots assessed the correlation between FFQ and 7-DR across the intake range.ResultsRepeatability for intake, explored by Pearson correlation, was 0.62–0.90 (median: 0.81). Relative validity, as determined by Pearson correlation for the nutrient intake derived from the FFQ and 7-DR, was 0.36–0.80 (0.64). The FFQ tended to report higher fiber and micronutrient intake than 7-DR. Misclassification into opposite quintiles ranged 0–6% (1%), whereas classification into same or adjacent quintiles ranged 59–83% (74%). Bland–Altman plots showed good agreement for most nutrients across the range of intake.ConclusionThis new FFQ showed a high repeatability and good relative validity, and thanks to its short length, should be a useful tool for rapidly evaluating the nutrient intake of French adults.

Supplementation with twice the recommended dose of the DS was effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol and appeared safe, but according to the present results, no additional benefit could be achieved compared to the recommended dose.

The NCLS was effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B100 in subjects with moderate hypercholesterolemia, without modifying safety parameters.

Supplementation of formulas with prebiotics enhances the growth of lactate producing bacteria, and fecal lactate, and acetate levels in infants. High concentrations of organic acids in intestinal lumen have, however, been shown to impair the intestinal barrier function. To determine whether stimulating the colonic microbiotal metabolism with prebiotics would impair the neonatal intestinal barrier function, artificially reared rats were fed milk formula with or without a mixture of galactooligosaccharides/inulin (GOS/Inulin, 88/12; 5.6 g/L) from the 7th d of life (d7) until weaning (d20). At d18, GOS/inulin supplementation had increased the concentrations of acetate and lactate in colonic lumen. Although neither ileumassociated microbiota nor colonic permeability (assessed in Ussing chambers), nor the expression of tight junction claudin-2 and claudin-3 mRNA were altered, GOS/inulin supplementation was associated with increased bacterial translocation (BT) toward spleen. None of these effects persisted at d40. We conclude that GOS/inulin supplementation may increase BT in an immature gut. The balance between the potential infectious risk of BT vs. its putative beneficial effect on the maturation of neonatal immune system clearly warrants further study. (Pediatr Res 64: 34-39, 2008)