A valid semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to measure fish consumption

Mina, Kym; Fritschi, Lin; Knuiman, Matthew

doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602617

Cited by 40 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…The percentage of DHA in erythrocyte membranes is quantitatively much larger than EPA, and during pregnancy the conversion of EPA to DHA is given priority (39) . The present study is in accordance with previous studies in that the relationship between fish consumption and serum/tissue DHA applies primarily to intake of fatty fish and n-3 supplements (34,40,41) . When total intake of milk and other dairy products, containing iodine from mandatory fodder fortification (14,42) , was included as a covariate, no fish variables were significantly associated with urinary iodine excretion (43) .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…During pregnancy, there is a faster turnover of fat storage that may modify the profile of erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids and lower the correlation between dietary intake and erythrocyte n-3 fatty acids (31) . It has been suggested that EPA is under different homeostatic and metabolic control than DHA (34) . The percentage of DHA in erythrocyte membranes is quantitatively much larger than EPA, and during pregnancy the conversion of EPA to DHA is given priority (39) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biomarkers reflect actual rather than reported intakes and are thus unaffected by respondents' reporting bias, typical of diet records and recalls (32) . The most frequently used biomarkers for intake of fish are the marine n-3 fatty acids EPA (20 : 5n-3) and DHA (22 : 6n-3) in adipose tissue, plasma or erythrocytes (8,33,34) . They reflect fatty fish ingestion and intake of fish-liver oil and other n-3-containing supplements (34) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most frequently used biomarkers for intake of fish are the marine n-3 fatty acids EPA (20 : 5n-3) and DHA (22 : 6n-3) in adipose tissue, plasma or erythrocytes (8,33,34) . They reflect fatty fish ingestion and intake of fish-liver oil and other n-3-containing supplements (34) . In Norway, there is a high frequency of cod-liver oil/fish-oil supplement use (35,36) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploration of biomarkers for total fish intake in pregnant Norwegian women

Brantsæter

Haugen

Thomassen

et al. 2009

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: Few biomarkers for dietary intake of various food groups have been established. The aim of the present study was to explore whether selenium (Se), iodine, mercury (Hg) or arsenic may serve as a biomarker for total fish and seafood intake in addition to the traditionally used n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Design: Intake of fish and seafood estimated by an FFQ was compared with intake assessed by a 4 d weighed food diary and with biomarkers in blood and urine. Setting: Validation study in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Subjects: One hundred and nineteen women. Results: Total fish/seafood intake (median 39 g/d) calculated with the MoBa FFQ was comparable to intake calculated by the food diary (median 30 g/d, r S 5 0?37, P , 0?001). Erythrocyte DHA and blood Hg, Se and arsenic concentrations were positively correlated with intake of fish and seafood, but the association for DHA was weakened by the widespread use of supplements. The main finding was the consistent positive association between the intake of fish/seafood and blood arsenic concentration. In multivariate analyses, blood arsenic was associated with blood Hg and fish and seafood intake. In these models, arsenic turned out to be the best indicator of intake of fish and seafood, both totally and in subgroups of fish/seafood intake. Conclusions: While DHA reflected the intake of fatty fish and n-3 PUFA supplements, blood arsenic concentration also reflected the intake of lean fish and seafood. Blood arsenic appears to be a useful biomarker for total fish and seafood intake. Keywords Biomarkers Fish and seafood intakePregnant women Blood arsenic Erythrocyte DHA Assessing trends in eating habits and dietary patterns is an essential component in the surveillance of population health and the development of dietary advice and interventions. Dietary monitoring requires a tool validated in the target population, and biomarkers of dietary exposure may assist in uncovering the errors associated with the method in use (1) . For a biomarker to be used for validation of a dietary instrument, it should have a strong direct and independent relationship with the nutrient or food group of interest. Recovery biomarkers, like doubly labelled water (2) and urinary N (3) , are less influenced by the body's homeostatic control than concentration biomarkers, which are extensively used in spite of their weaker association with consumption (4) . Biomarkers that reflect the intake of a food group rather than a specific nutrient are scarce. Plasma carotenoids and urinary flavonoids have been used as biomarkers of fruit and vegetable groups (5,6) and plasma or tissue n-3 PUFA, mainly EPA and DHA, have been used as biomarkers of both total fish and fatty fish intake (7,8) . However, as lean or semi-lean fish and seafood comprise nearly two-thirds of the total fish intake in Norway (9) , a biomarker related to total fish/seafood intake rather than fatty fish and fish-oil supplements could contribute to better validation of this food group than EPA o...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Exploration of biomarkers for total fish intake in pregnant Norwegian women

Brantsæter

Haugen

Thomassen

et al. 2009

Public Health Nutr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Data collected on 109 participants as part of an Australianbased study to validate a thorough FFQ on fish con-sumption were used 5 . Healthy (defined as no history of heart disease, cancer (not including skin cancer), severe inflammatory diseases, emphysema or asthma, diabetes, severe gastrointestinal disease or mental illness) volunteers aged 21-75 years from the Perth metropolitan area were recruited to complete the developed FFQ and provide a fasting blood sample for analysis of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), between March and November 2005.…”

Section: Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do aggregates of multiple questions better capture overall fish consumption than summary questions?

Mina

Fritschi

Knuiman

2008

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To compare intake estimates, validity and reliability of two summary questions to measure fish consumption with information from a detailed semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) on fish consumption. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional study. Participants completed an FFQ and provided blood samples for erythrocyte membrane eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) analysis. Aggregate measures of consumption of fresh/frozen/canned fish (fresh fish) and smoked/salted/dried fish (preserved fish) were generated from the FFQ and were compared with responses to the summary questions regarding intakes of similar items. Both methods were tested for validity, using correlation and linear regression techniques with EPA, and retest reliability. Setting: Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia. Subjects: One hundred and nine healthy volunteers of both sexes, aged 21-75 years. Results: The summary fresh fish measure underestimated frequency and grams per week given by the aggregate question by about 50%, while estimates from the summary preserved fish measure were approximately three times that of the aggregate measure. Multiple linear regression analysis suggested that the aggregates accounted for more of the variation in EPA levels, but the difference was minimal. Intra-class correlations confirmed that both methods were reliable. Conclusions: Our study indicates that extensive questioning results in different absolute intakes of fish compared with brief questioning, but does not add any information if ranking individuals according to overall consumption of fish. Keywords Epidemiological methodsFatty acids Omega-3 Questionnaires Reproducibility of results Validation studiesFish consumption has been suggested as a protective factor for the development of various cancers; however, results from studies investigating this association have been inconsistent, ranging from statistically significant associations 1,2 to no clear association at all 3,4 . Possible reasons for this could be either a lack of detail collected by questionnaires used to measure fish consumption and therefore the failure to accurately capture the fish consumption of study participants, or a tendency for investigators to use a single measure to represent overall fish intake in statistical modelling despite having collected detailed information on the various types of fish and seafood consumed. However, there is no published evidence that the distinction among types and styles of fish items is important if ultimately the research question being asked is whether fish, as a food group, has a protective effect on the development of disease.We recently examined data collected as part of a large population-based case-control study for an association between fresh and preserved fish consumption and prostate cancer (Mina K, Fritschi L, Johnson KC, The Canadian Cancer Registries Epidemiology Research Group, 2007, unpublished). Information on fish intake was collected by means of two questions about frequency of consumption of a given am...

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Mercury Exposure as a Function of Fish Consumption in Two Asian Communities in Coastal Virginia, USA

Newman

2014

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

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Fish consumption and associated mercury exposure were explored for two Asian-dominated church communities in coastal Virginia and compared with that of two non-Asian church communities. Seafood-consumption rates for the Chinese (36.9 g/person/day) and Vietnamese (52.7 g/person/day) church communities were greater than the general United States fish-consumption rate (12.8 g/person/day). Correspondingly, hair mercury concentrations for people from the Chinese (0.52 µg/g) and the Vietnamese church (1.46 µg/g) were greater than the overall level for United States women (0.20 µg/g) but lower than the published World Health Organization exposure threshold (14 µg/g). A conventional regression model indicated a positive relationship between seafood consumption rates and hair mercury concentrations suggesting the importance of mercury exposure through seafood consumption. The annual-average daily methylmercury intake rate for the studied communities calculated by Monte Carlo simulations followed the sequence: Vietnamese community > Chinese community > non-Asian communities. Regardless, their daily methylmercury intake rates were all lower than the United States Environmental Protection Agency reference dose of 0.1 µg/kg body weight-day. In conclusion, fish-consumption patterns differed among communities, which resulted in different levels of mercury exposure. The greater seafood and mercury ingestion rates of studied Asian groups compared with non-Asian groups suggest the need for specific seafood consumption advice for ethnic communities in the United States. Otherwise the health benefits from fish consumption could be perceived as trivial compared with the ill-defined risk of mercury exposure.

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A valid semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to measure fish consumption

Cited by 40 publications

References 31 publications

Exploration of biomarkers for total fish intake in pregnant Norwegian women

Exploration of biomarkers for total fish intake in pregnant Norwegian women

Do aggregates of multiple questions better capture overall fish consumption than summary questions?

Mercury Exposure as a Function of Fish Consumption in Two Asian Communities in Coastal Virginia, USA

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