Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T13:57:23.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Validity and reliability of the Block98 food-frequency questionnaire in a sample of Canadian women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Beatrice Boucher ,
Michelle Cotterchio ,
Nancy Kreiger ,
Victoria Nadalin ,
Torin Block  and
Gladys Block
Beatrice Boucher*
Affiliation:
Division of Preventive Oncology, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2L7
Michelle Cotterchio
Affiliation:
Division of Preventive Oncology, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2L7 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nancy Kreiger
Affiliation:
Division of Preventive Oncology, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2L7 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Victoria Nadalin
Affiliation:
Division of Preventive Oncology, Cancer Care Ontario, 620 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2L7
Torin Block
Affiliation:
Block Dietary Data Systems, Berkeley, CA, USA
Gladys Block
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
*
*Corresponding author: 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.
Objective

To assess the validity and reliability of the most recent adaptation of Block's full-diet food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) among a sample of Canadian women.

Design

Participants completed a self-administered FFQ (FFQ1), two unannounced 24-hour recalls (weekday and weekend) and a second FFQ (FFQ2) between October 2003 and February 2004. FFQs and recalls were analysed for 32 nutrients using Block Dietary Data Systems and the University of Minnesota's Nutrient Data System. Mean and median intakes were computed, along with crude and deattenuated Pearson correlation coefficients between FFQ1 and the average of two recalls (validity) and between FFQ1 and FFQ2 (reliability).

Setting

Ontario, Canada.

Subjects

A random population-based sample (n = 166) of women aged 25 to 74 years.

Results

One hundred and fifteen (69%) women completed FFQ1, 96 completed FFQ1 and both recalls, and 93 completed both FFQs, about 56 days apart. Mean intakes were similar for most nutrients. FFQ reliability was high, with Pearson correlation coefficients having a median of 0.75, ranging from 0.57 to 0.90 (macronutrients) and from 0.65 to 0.88 (micronutrients from supplements and food). FFQ validity was moderate to high, with deattenuated Pearson correlation coefficients having a median of 0.59, ranging from 0.11 to 0.73 (macronutrients) and from 0.50 to 0.76 (micronutrients from supplements and food). Our micronutrient correlations were similar to or higher than those of other studies that included supplements. Two correlations <0.40 were associated with fats.

Conclusions

The validity and reliability of this full-diet version of the Block FFQ were moderate to high, supporting its use in future studies among Canadian women.

Keywords

Food-frequency questionnaireDietary recallValidityReliabilityWomenCanada
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 2006 , pp. 84 - 93
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2006

References

1Block, G, Hartman, AM, Dresser, CM, Carroll, MD, Gannon, J, Gardner, L. A data-based approach to diet questionnaire design and testing. American Journal of Epidemiology 1986; 124: 453–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Cade, J, Thompson, R, Burley, V, Warm, D. Development, validation and utilisation of food-frequency questionnaires–a review. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5: 567–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Willett, W. Nutritional Epidemiology, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Subar, AF, Thompson, FE, Kipnis, V, Midthune, D, Hurwitz, P, McNutt, S, et al. Comparative validation of the Block, Willett and National Cancer Institute food frequency questionnaires: the Eating at America's Table Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 154: 1089–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Stark, A. An historical review of the Harvard and the National Cancer Institute food frequency questionnaires: their similarities, differences, and their limitations in assessment of food intake. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 2002; 41: 35–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6Wirfält, AKEJeffery, RQ, Elmer, PJ. Comparison of food frequency questionnaires: the reduced Block and Willett questionnaires differ in ranking on nutrient intakes. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 148: 1148–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Block, G, Coyle, LM, Hartman, AM, Scoppa, SM. Revision of dietary analysis software for the Health Habits and History Questionnaire. American Journal of Epidemiology 1994; 139: 1190–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Block, G. Invited commentary: comparison of the Block and Willett food frequency questionnaires. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 148: 1160–1.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Block, G. Invited commentary: another perspective on food frequency questionnaires. American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 154: 1103–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Block, G, Wakimoto, P, Block, T. A revision of the Block dietary questionnaire and database, based on NHANES III data [online]. Available at http://www.nutritionquest.com/B98_Dev.pdf. Accessed 29 October 2004.Google Scholar
11Caan, BJ, Slattery, ML, Potter, J, Quesenberry, CP, Coates, AO, Schaffer, DM. Comparison of the Block and Willett self-administered semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires with an interviewer-administered dietary history. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 149: 1137–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Tylavsky, FA, Sharp, GB. Misclassification of nutrient and energy intake from use of closed-ended questions in epidemiologic research. American Journal of Epidemiology 1995; 142: 342–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Thompson, FE, Subar, AF, Brown, CC, Smith, AF, Sharbaugh, CO, Jobe, JB, et al. Cognitive research enhances accuracy of food frequency questionnaire reports: results of an experimental validation study. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002; 102: 212–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Sobell, J, Block, G, Koslowe, P, Tobin, J, Andres, R. Validation of a retrospective questionnaire assessing diet 10–15 years ago. American Journal of Epidemiology 1989; 130: 173–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Block, G, Woods, M, Potosky, A, Clifford, C. Validation of a self-administered diet history questionnaire using multiple diet records. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 1990; 43: 1327–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Coates, RJ, Eley, JW, Block, G, Gunter, EW, Sowell, AL, Grossman, C, et al. An evaluation of a food frequency questionnaire for assessing dietary intake of specific carotenoids and vitamin E among low-income black women. American Journal of Epidemiology 1991; 134: 658–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Tucker, KL, Bianchi, LA, Maras, J, Bermudez, OI. Adaptation of a food frequency questionnaire to assess diets of Puerto Rican and non-Hispanic adults. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 148: 507–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Mayer-Davis, EJ, Vitolins, MZ, Carmichael, SL, Hemphill, S, Tsaroucha, G, Rushing, J, et al. Validity and reproducibility of a food frequency interview in a multi-cultural epidemiological study. Annals of Epidemiology 1999; 9: 314–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Kim, J, Chan, MM, Shore, RE. Development and validation of a food frequency questionnaire for Korean Americans. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition 2002; 53: 129–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Kumanyika, SK, Mauger, D, Mitchell, DC, Phillips, B, Smiciklas-Wright, H, Palmer, JR. Relative validity of food frequency questionnaire nutrient estimates in the Black Women's Health Study. Annals of Epidemiology 2003; 13: 111–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Margetts, BM, Nelson, M. Design Concepts in Nutritional Epidemiology, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.Google Scholar
22Block, G, Hartman, AM. (1989) Issues in reproducibility and validity of dietary studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1977; 50: 1133–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Byers, T. Food frequency dietary assessment: how bad is good enough? American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 154: 1087–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24Whiting, SJ, Boyle, JL, Thompson, A, Mirwald, RL, Faulkner, RA. Dietary protein, phosphorus and potassium are beneficial to bone mineral density in adult men consuming adequate dietary calcium. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2002; 21: 402–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Goodwin, PJ, Ennis, M, Pritchard, KI, Koo, J, Trudeau, ME, Hood, N. Diet and breast cancer: evidence that extremes in diet are associated with poor survival. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2003; 21: 2500–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Jain, MG, Rohan, TE, Soskolne, CL, Kreiger, N. Calibration of the dietary questionnaire for the Canadian Study of Diet, Lifestyle and Health cohort. Public Health Nutrition 2003; 6: 79–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Bright-See, E, Catlin, G, Godin, G. Assessment of the relative validity of the Ontario Health Survey food frequency questionnaire. Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association 1994; 55: 33–8.Google Scholar
28Shakel, SF, Sievert, YA, Buzzard, IM. Sources of data for developing and maintaining a nutrient database. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1988; 88: 1268–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29Van Horn, L, Stumbo, P, Moag-Stahlberg, A, Obarzanek, E, Hartmuller, V, Farris, R, et al. The Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC): dietary assessment method for 8- to 10-year olds. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1993; 93: 1396–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30Chambers, EIV, Godwin, SL, Vecchio, F. Cognitive strategies for reporting portion sizes using dietary recall procedures. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2000; 100: 891–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31Yanek, LR, Moy, TF, Raqueno, JV, Becker, DM. Comparison of the effectiveness of a telephone 24-hour dietary recall method vs an in-person method among urban African-American women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2000; 100: 1172–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32Patterson, RE, Kristal, AR, Levy, L, McLerran, D, White, E. Validity of methods used to assess vitamin and mineral supplement use. American Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 148: 643–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33Satia-Abouta, J, Patterson, RE, King, IB, Stratton, KL, Shattuck, AL, Kristal, AR, et al. Reliability and validity of self-report of vitamin and mineral supplement use in the Vitamins and Lifestyle Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 157: 944–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34 Health Canada. Drug product database [online]. Available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hpb/drugs-dpd/. Accessed 29 October 2004.Google Scholar
35Haines, PS, Hama, MY, Guilkey, DK, Popkin, BM. Weekend eating in the United States is linked with greater energy, fat, and alcohol intake. Obesity Research 2003; 11: 945–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36Brathen, G, Brodtkorb, E, Sand, T, Helde, G, Bovim, G. Weekday distribution of alcohol consumption in Norway: influence on the occurrence of epileptic seizures and stroke. European Journal of Neurology 2000; 7: 413–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37Beaton, GH, Milner, J, Corey, P, McGuire, V, Cousins, M, Stewart, E, et al. Sources of variation in 24-hour dietary recall data: implications for nutrition study design and interpretation. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1979; 32: 2546–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38Rosner, B, Willett, WC. Interval estimates for correlation coefficients corrected for within-person variation: implications for study design and hypothesis testing. American Journal of Epidemiology 1988; 127: 377–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39Kelemen, LE, Anand, SS, Vuksan, V, Yi, Q, Teo, KK, Devanesen, S, et al. Development and evaluation of cultural food frequency questionnaires for South Asians, Chinese, and Europeans in North America. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2003; 103: 1178–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40Mares-Perlman, JA, Klein, BEK, Klein, R, Ritter, LL, Fisher, MR, Freudenheim, JL. A diet history questionnaire ranks nutrient intakes in middle-aged and older men and women similarly to multiple food records. Journal of Nutrition 1993; 123: 489–501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41Patterson, RE, Kristal, AR, Tinker, LF, Carter, RA, Bolton, MP, Agur-Collins, T. Measurement characteristics of the Women's Health Initiative food frequency questionnaire. Annals of Epidemiology 1999; 9: 178–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42Messerer, M, Johansson, SE, Wolk, A. The validity of questionnaire-based micronutrient intake estimates is increased by including dietary supplement use in Swedish men. Journal of Nutrition 2004; 134: 1800–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
43Rimm, EB, Giovannucci, EL, Stampfer, MJ, Colditz, GA, Litin, LB, Willett, WC. Reproducibility and validity of an expanded self-administered semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire among male health professionals. American Journal of Epidemiology 1992; 135: 1114–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
44Barr, SI, Murphy, SP, Poos, MI. Interpreting and using the Dietary References Intakes in dietary assessment of individuals and groups. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002; 102: 780–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
45Rimm, EB, Giovannucci, EL, Stampfer, MJ, Colditz, GA, Litin, LB, Willett, WC. Authors' response to “Invited commentary: some limitations of semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires”. American Journal of Epidemiology 1992; 135: 1133–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
46White, E, Patterson, RE, Kristal, AR, Thornquist, M, King, I, Shattuck, AL, et al. VITamins And Lifestyle cohort study: study design and characteristics of supplement users. American Journal of Epidemiology 2004; 159: 83–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
47Troppmann, L, Gray-Donald, K, Johns, T. Supplement use: is there any nutritional benefit? Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002; 102: 818–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
48Palaniappan, U, Starkey, LJ, O'Loughlin, JO. Gray-Donald, K. Fruit and vegetable consumption is lower and saturated fat intake is higher among Canadians reporting smoking. Journal of Nutrition 2001; 131: 1952–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
49Hoggatt, KJ, Bernstein, L, Reynolds, P, Anton-Culver, H, Deapen, D, Peel, D, et al. Correlates of vitamin supplement use in the United States: data from the California Teachers Study cohort. Cancer Causes & Control 2002; 13: 735–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
50Radimer, K, Bindewald, B, Hughes, J, Ervin, B, Swanson, C, Picciano, MF. Dietary supplement use by US adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2000. American Journal of Epidemiology 2004; 160: 339–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
51Foote, JA, Murphy, SP, Wilkens, LR, Hankin, JH, Henderson, BE, Kolonel, LN. Factors associated with dietary supplement use among healthy adults of five ethnicities. American Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 157: 888–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
52Subar, AF, Kipnis, V, Troiano, RP, Midthune, D, Schoeller, DA, Bingham, S, et al. Using biomarkers to evaluate the extent of dietary misreporting in a large sample of adults: the OPEN study. American Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 158: 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
53Schatzkin, A, Kipnis, V, Carroll, RJ, Midthune, D, Subar, AF, Bingham, S, et al. A comparison of a food frequency questionnaire with a 24-hour recall for use in an epidemiological cohort study: results for the biomarker-based Observing Protein and Energy Nutrition (OPEN) study. International Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 32: 1054–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
54Freedman, LS, Midthune, D, Carroll, RJ, Krebs-Smith, SSubar, ATroiano, RP, et al. Adjustments to improve the estimation of usual dietary intake distributions in the population. Journal of Nutrition 2004; 134: 1836–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
55Krebs-Smith, SM, Heimendinger, J, Subar, AF, Patterson, BH, Pivonka, E. Using food frequency questionnaires to estimate fruit and vegetable intake: association between the number of questions and total intakes. Journal of Nutrition Education 1995; 27: 80–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
56Amanatidis, S, Mackerras, D, Simpson, JM. Comparison of two frequency questionnaires for quantifying fruit and vegetable intake. Public Health Nutrition 2001; 4: 233–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
57Block, G, Sinha, R, Gridley, G. Collection of dietary-supplement data and implications of analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994; 59: 232S–9S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
58Block, G, Norkus, E, Hudes, M, Mandel, S, Helzlsouer, K. Which plasma antioxidants are most related to fruit and vegetable consumption? American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 154: 1113–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
59Johansson, I, Hallmans, G, Wikman, A, Biessy, C, Riboli, E, Kaaks, R. Validation and calibration of food-frequency questionnaire measurements in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease cohort. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5: 487–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
60Basiotis, PP, Welsh, SO, Cronin, FJ, Kelsay, JL, Mertz, W. Number of days of food intake records required to estimate individual and group nutrient intakes with defined confidence. Journal of Nutrition 1987; 117: 1638–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
61Beaton, GH. Approaches to analysis of dietary data: relationship between planned analyses and choice of methodology. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994; 59: 253S–61S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
62Kushi, LH. Gaps in epidemiologic research methods: design considerations for studies that use food-frequency questionnaires. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994; 59: 180S–4S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
63Beaton, GH, Milner, J, McGuire, V, Feather, TE, Little, JA. Source of variance in 24-hour dietary recall data: implications for nutrition study design and interpretation. Carbohydrate sources, vitamins, and minerals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1983; 37: 986–95.Google ScholarPubMed
64Nelson, M, Black, AE, Morris, JA, Cole, TJ. Between- and within-subject variation in nutrient intake from infancy to old age: estimating the number of days required to rank dietary intakes with desired precision. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1989; 50: 155–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
65Hartman, AM, Brown, CC, Palmgren, J, Pietinen, P, Verkasalo, M, Myer, D, et al. Variability in nutrient and food intakes among older middle-aged men: implications for design of epidemiologic and validation studies using food recording. American Journal of Epidemiology 1990; 132: 999–1012.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
66 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [online]. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm. Accessed 29 October 2004.Google Scholar
67Godwin, SL, Chambers, E, Cleveland, L. Accuracy of reporting dietary intake using various portion-size aids in-person and via telephone. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2004; 104: 585–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
68Lee, RD, Nieman, DC, Rainwater, M. Comparison of eight microcomputer dietary analysis programs with the USDA Nutrient Data Base for Standard Reference. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1995; 95: 858–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
69McCullough, ML, Karanja, NM, Lin, PH, Obarzanek, E, Phillips, KM, Laws, RL, et al. Comparison of 4 nutrient databases with chemical composition data from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension trial. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1999; 99: S45–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
70Csizmadi, I, Subar, A, Kahle, L, Ullman, R, Dawe, U, Zimmerman, T, et al. Adaptation of the National Cancer Institute's Diet History Questionnaire and nutrient database for Canadian populations. Journal of Nutrition 2004; 134: 3532S.Google Scholar
71 Statistics Canada. 2001 Census: Analysis Series. Canada's ethnocultural portrait: the changing mosaic [online], 2003. Available at http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/english/demographics/cenhi6e.htm. Accessed 29 October 2004.Google Scholar
72 Health Canada. Adult smoking in Canada. Annual Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS), February–December 2000 [online]. Available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/pdf/CTUMS-2000e%20(Adult).pdf. Accessed 29 October 2004.Google Scholar
73 Statistics Canada. Census of population, population 15 years and over by highest degree, certificate or diploma (1986–2001 censuses) [online]. Available at http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/educ42.htm. Accessed 29 October 2004.Google Scholar
74Livingstone, MBE, Black, AE. Markers of the validity of reported energy intake. Journal of Nutrition 2003; 133: 895S–920S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
75Bedard, D, Shatenstein, B, Nadon, S. Underreporting of energy intake from a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire completed by adults in Montreal. Public Health Nutrition 2004; 7: 675–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
76Kipnis, V, Midthune, D, Freedman, L, Bingham, S, Day, NE, Riboli, E, et al. Bias in dietary-report instruments and its implications for nutritional epidemiology. Public Health Nutrition 2002; 5: 915–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
77Kipnis, V, Midthune, D, Freedman, LS, Bingham, S, Schatzkin, A, Subar, A, et al. Empirical evidence of correlated biases in dietary assessment instruments and its implications. American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 153: 394–403.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed