Validation of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Micronutrient Intakes in an Urban US Sample of Multi-Ethnic Pregnant Women

Abstract

Objective(s) To validate the Block98 food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for estimating antioxidant, methyl-nutrient and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intakes in a pregnant sample of ethnic/racial minority women in the United States (US). Methods Participants (n = 42) were from the Programming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms study. Total micronutrient intakes from food and supplements was ascertained using the modified Block98 FFQ and two 24-h dietary recalls collected at random on nonconsecutive days subsequent to completion of the FFQ in mid-pregnancy. Correlation coefficients (r) corrected for attenuation from within-person variation in the recalls were calculated for antioxidants (n = 7), methyl-nutrients (n = 8), and PUFAs (n = 2). Result(s) The sample was largely ethnic minorities (38 % Black, 33 % Hispanic) with 21 % being foreign born and 41 % having less than or equal to a high school degree. Significant and adequate deattenuated correlations (r ≥ 0.40) for total dietary intakes of antioxidants were observed for vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc. Reasonable deattenuated correlations were also observed for methyl-nutrient intakes of vitamin B6, betaine, iron, and n:6 PUFAs; however, they did not reach significance. Most women were classified into the same or adjacent quartiles (≥70 %) for total (dietary + supplements) estimates of antioxidants (5 out of 7) and methyl-nutrients (4 out of 5). Conclusions The Block98 FFQ is an appropriate dietary method for evaluating antioxidants in pregnant ethnic/minorities in the US; it may be less efficient in measuring methyl-nutrient and PUFA intakes.

Associations among prenatal stress, maternal antioxidant intakes in pregnancy, and child temperament at age 30 months

“…69 Moreover, the measure was validated within a subset of the current cohort using an extensive four-step automated dietary recall process. 57 Also, this study considered associations among prenatal stress and nutrition and temperament in childhood; the majority of studies to date in this area have focused on infancy and often on specific temperament domains (e.g., only negative affectivity). By extending our earlier findings showing that prenatal diet may mitigate prenatal stress effects on temperament from infants to toddlers, this study provides further support for the hypothesis that prenatal dietary interventions may provide some long-term protection against prenatal stress exposure effects.…”

“…36 In brief, FFQ data were processed through the Block Dietary Data System to calculate daily energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intakes using the NHANES and the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. 51,55,56 Micronutrient data included estimated antioxidant intakes, which were validated within a subset (n = 42) of the cohort using 24-h dietary recalls, 57 considered the gold standard for validation studies. 58,59 The specific antioxidant intakes estimated included vitamins A, C, and E, and magnesium, zinc, selenium, and β-carotene.…”

“…58,59 The specific antioxidant intakes estimated included vitamins A, C, and E, and magnesium, zinc, selenium, and β-carotene. 57 Dietary antioxidant intake values were energy-adjusted using the residual method, as previously described. 60 Supplemental intakes were then added to the energy-adjusted dietary intakes to provide total energy-adjusted intakes of each micronutrient, which were used in the analyses.…”

Dietary Choline Intake: Current State of Knowledge Across the Life Cycle

“…The relative validity is often assessed by the use of different statistical analyses, including correlation coefficients, Bland-Altman plots, cross-classification, and weighted Cohen’s kappa coefficients [ 179 , 180 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184 ]. However, only a few recent studies have reported on the validation of methods to assess choline and betaine intakes [ 159 , 185 , 186 , 187 ]. This could be related to the fact that the first food composition database for these nutrients only became available for use less than 15 years ago [ 148 ].…”

Development and Validation of a Mediterranean Oriented Culture-Specific Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire

“…The testing period is a key factor for the number of recall days required [ 12 ]; therefore, two 24HDRs were considered adequate to validate our FFQ. It is worth mentioning that Mouratidou et al, (2006) [ 46 ], Mejía-Rodríguez et al, (2012) [ 51 ], and Brunst et al, (2016) [ 65 ], also checked the validity of their FFQ against two 24HDRs, having as testing period one month in pregnancy.…”