Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T17:25:23.680Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Measuring dietary fatty acid intake: validation of a food-frequency questionnaire against 7d weighed records

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2007

Emma Broadfield ,
Tricia McKeever ,
Andrew Fogarty  and
John Britton
Emma Broadfield*
Affiliation:
Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK
Tricia McKeever
Affiliation:
Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK
Andrew Fogarty
Affiliation:
Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK
John Britton
Affiliation:
Division of Respiratory Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Emma Broadfield, fax +44 115 840 4771, email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

There are few validated methods of measuring dietary fatty acid intake that are suitable for epidemiological research. The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed to measure individual dietary fatty acid intakes against 7d weighed dietary records, in a sample of thirty-one healthy adult volunteers. The FFQ was based on a previously validated questionnaire (DIETQ; Tinuviel Software, Warrington, Ches., UK), adapted to include greater detail on those foods from which the majority of dietary fatty acids are obtained. The FFQ and weighed records were analysed using food nutrient data from McCance and Widdowson's Food Composition Tables, supplemented with a food fatty acid content database (Foodbase, London, UK). Results from the two dietary assessment methods were compared by correlation coefficients and limits of agreement. The mean intake of individual fatty acids tended to be lower when assessed by FFQ. Correlation coefficients comparing unadjusted individual fatty acid intakes assessed by FFQ and weighed records ranged from 0·29 for 18:1n−9 to 0·71 for 20:4n−6. Adjusting for energy intake tended to increase the correlation coefficients between saturated fatty acids and decrease those between unsaturated fatty acids. In conclusion, this food-frequency method provides reliable estimates of dietary intake of many individual fatty acids for use in epidemiological studies.

Keywords

Nutritional assessmentFatty acidsEpidemiologyDiet
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 90 , Issue 1 , July 2003 , pp. 215 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2003

References

Andersen, LF, Solvoll, K, Johansson, LRK, Salminen, I, Aro, A & Drevon, CA (1998) Evaluation of a food frequency questionnaire with weighed records, fatty acids, and alpha-tocopherol in adipose tissue and serum. Am J Epidemiol 150, 75–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belluzzi, A, Boschi, S, Brignola, C, Munarini, A, Cariani, G & Miglio, F (2000) Polyunsaturated fatty acids and inflammatory bowel disease. Am J Clin Nutr 71, 339S–342S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berlin, E, Bhathena, SJ, McClure, D & Peters, RC (1998) Dietary menhaden and corn oils and the red blood cell membrane lipid composition and fluidity in hyper- and normocholesterolemic miniature swine. J Nutr 128, 1421–1428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Black, PN (1999) The prevalence of allergic disease and linoleic acid. J Allergy Clin Immunol 103, 351–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bland, JM & Altman, DG (1986) Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet 1, 307–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Block, G (2001) Invited commentary: another perspective on food frequency questionnaires. Am J Epidemiol 154, 1103–1104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Broadfield, E, McKeever, TM, Scrivener, S, Venn, A, Lewis, SA & Britton, J (2002) Increase in the prevalence of allergen skin sensitization in successive birth cohorts. J Allergy Clin Immunol 109, 969–974.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brunner, E, Stallone, D, Juneja, M, Bingham, S & Marmot, M (2001) Dietary assessment in Whitehall II: comparison of 7d diet diary and food-frequency questionnaire and validity against biomarkers. Br J Nutr 86, 405–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burr, ML, Fehily, AM, Rogers, S, Welsby, E, King, S & Sandham, S (1989) Diet and reinfarction trial (DART): design, recruitment and compliance. Eur Heart J 10, 558–567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, VA & Dodds, ML (1967) Collecting dietary information from groups of older people. J Am Dietet Assoc 51, 29–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crawley, H (1994) In Food Portion Sizes. London: H. M. Stationery Office.Google Scholar
de Castro, JM (1991) Seasonal rhythms of human nutrient intake and meal pattern. Physiol Behav 50, 243–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Endres, S, Ghorbani, R, Kelley, VE, et al. (1989) The effect of dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on the synthesis of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor by mononuclear cells. New Eng J Med 320, 265–270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fogarty, A & Britton, J (2000) The role of diet in the aetiology of asthma. Clin Exp Allergy 30, 615–627.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Geerling, BJ, Houwelingen, AC, Badart-Smook, A, Stockbrügger, RW & Brummer, R-J (1998) Fat intake and fatty acid profile in plasma phospholipids and adipose tissue in patients with Crohn's disease, compared with controls. Am J Gastroenterol 94, 410–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hackett, AF, Appleton, DR, Rugg-Gunn, AJ & Eastoe, JE (1985) Some influences on the measurement of food intake during a dietary survey of adolescents. Hum Nutr Appl Nutr 39, 167–177.Google ScholarPubMed
Holland, B, Welch, AA, Unwin, ID, Buss, DH, Paul, AA & Southgate, DAT (1991) McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods. fifth ed. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry & Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.Google Scholar
Horrobin, DF (1987) Low prevalences of coronary heart disease (CHD), psoriasis, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis in Eskimos: are they caused by high dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a genetic variation of essential fatty acid (EFA) metabolism or a combination of both?. Med Hypotheses 22, 421–428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howe, GR, Hirohata, T & Hislop, TG (1990) Dietary factors and risk of breast cancer: combined analysis of 12 case-control studies. J Natl Cancer Inst 82, 561–569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jain, M, Howe, GR & Rohan, T (1996) Dietary assessment in epidemiology: a comparison of a food frequency and a diet history questionnaire with a 7-day food record. Am J Epidemiol 143, 953–959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leaf, A & Weber, PC (1988) Cardiovascular effects of n−3 fatty acids. New Eng J Med 318, 549–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, TH & Austen, KF (1986) Arachidonic acid metabolism by the 5-lipoxygenase pathway, and the effects of alternative dietary fatty acids. Adv Immunol 39, 145–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2001 a) Household nutrient data from 1940 onwards. http://www.maff.gov.uk/esg/default.htmGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2001 b) Household consumption of selected foods from 1942 onwards. http://www.maff.gov.uk/esg/default.htmGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, J (2000) Role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in lung disease. Am J Clin Nutr 71, 393S–396S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simopoulos, AP (1996) The role of fatty acids in gene expression: health implications. Ann Nutr Metabol 40, 303–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Subar, AF, Thompson, FE, Kipnis, V, et al. (2001) Comparative validation of the Block, Willett, and National Cancer Institute food frequency questionnaires: The Eating at America's Table Study. Am J Epidemiol 154, 1089–1099.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tokudome, S, Imaeda, N, Tokudome, Y, et al. (2001) Relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire versus 28 day weighed diet records in Japanese female dieticians. Eur J Clin Nutr 55, 735–742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vollmer, WM, Osborne, ML & Buist, AS (1998) 20-year trends in the prevalence of asthma and chronic airflow obstruction in an HMO. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 157, 1079–1084.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willett, WC (1990 a) Implications of total energy intake for epidemiological analyses. In Nutritional Epidemiology. pp. 245–271. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Willett, WC (1990 b) Reproducibility and validity of food-frequency questionnaires. In Nutritional Epidemiology, pp 92–126. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Willett, WC (2001 a) Diet and breast cancer. J Intern Med 249, 395–411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willett, WC (2001 b) Invited commentary: A further look at dietary questionnaire validation. Am J Epidemiol 154, 1100–1102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Willett, WC, Reynolds, RD, Cottrell-Hoehner, S, Sampson, LA & Browne, ML (1987) Validation of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire: Comparison with a 1-year diet record. J Am Diet Assoc 87, 43–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willett, WC & Stampfer, MJ (1986) Total energy intake: implications for epidemiologic analyses. Am J Epidemiol 124, 17–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolk, A, Ljung, H, Vessby, B, Hunter, D & Willett, WC (1998) Effect of additional questions about fat on the validity of fat estimates from a food frequency questionnaire. Eur J Clin Nutr 52, 186–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed