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Validity of a food-frequency questionnaire for a large prospective cohort study in Bangladesh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Yu Chen ,
Habibul Ahsan ,
Faruque Parvez  and
Geoffrey R. Howe
Yu Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA
Habibul Ahsan*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, USA
Faruque Parvez
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA
Geoffrey R. Howe
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Habibul Ahsan, 722 West 168th Street, Room 720G, NY10032, New York, USA, fax +1 212 305 9413, email, ha37@columbia.edu
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Abstract

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We have developed a thirty-nine-item semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess the dietary consumption of 11 746 men and women in a prospective cohort study that evaluates the health effects of As from drinking water in Bangladesh. In order to validate the FFQ, two 7 d food diaries (FD) were completed for 189 randomly selected cohort participants in two different seasons of the year. Nutrient values were converted based on both the United States Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database and a food composition table for the Indian subcontinent. Pearson product-moment and Spearman non-parametric rank correlation coefficients comparing food and nutrient consumptions estimated from FFQ and 7 d FD were calculated based on log-transformed consumption values with or without adjustment for total energy and correction for within-individual variation. Correlations of macronutrients and common micronutrients including total fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, Na, K, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, riboflavin, Mn, thiamin and Fe were moderately good, ranging from 0·30 to 0·76. However, correlations of other micronutrients were weak (<0·30). Large seasonal variations in intakes of retinol equivalents and vitamin C were observed. This analysis documents the degree of validity of the FFQ in measuring specific nutrient intakes in the study population. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to document the validity of a FFQ with the use of 7 d FD in a Bangladeshi population.

Keywords

ArsenicValidation studyFood-frequency questionnairesFood diariesNutritional epidemiology
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 92 , Issue 5 , November 2004 , pp. 851 - 859
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2004

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