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Reproducibility and validity of a food-frequency questionnaire for use among low-income Brazilian workers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Nélida Schmid Fornés ,
Maria Luiza Ferreira Stringhini  and
Berenice Müller Elias
Nélida Schmid Fornés*
Affiliation:
Faculdade de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil Rva 10 No. 930 Apto. 902, Setor Oeste, Goiánia, 74120-020 GO, Brazil
Maria Luiza Ferreira Stringhini
Affiliation:
Faculdade de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil
Berenice Müller Elias
Affiliation:
Fundação Hospitalar do Distrito Federal, Brasília, Brazil
*
*Corresponding author: Email nelida@fanut.ufg.br
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Abstract

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Objectives:

To assess the reproducibility and validity a 127-item, habitual intake, food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ), developed for low-income and low-literacy Brazilian workers, by comparison with a 24-hour dietary recall (24-HDR).

Design:

The FFQ and 24-HDR were interviewer-administered at the local workplace to each subject twice, with a period of 6 months between estimates; and four 24-HDRs were conducted during the 4-month period between the two FFQs (FFQ1 and FFQ2). Reproducibility was tested by comparing mean nutrient intakes from the two FFQs. Validity was determined by comparing the mean nutrient intakes from the FFQs with the corresponding averages of the six 24-HDRs (reference method).

Setting:

Goiânia City, in Central West Brazil.

Subjects:

The study was based on 104 (62 women and 42 men) subjects, aged 18 to 60 years, who were randomly selected.

Results:

Dietary intake from the FFQ was higher than from the 24-HDR. Reproducibility was assessed by Pearson correlation coefficients for nutrients from FFQ1 and FFQ2, and ranged from 0.23 for retinol to 0.69 for total energy (mean 0.52). Intra-class coefficients for nutrients averaged by the 24-HDRs ranged from 0.29 for vitamin C to 0.76 for total energy; retinol was not significant. In the validation study, correlation between the FFQ and the 24-HDR ranged between 0.21 for vitamin C and 0.70 for total energy (mean 0.50). Adjusting for total energy lowered the coefficients, except for calcium, retinol and vitamin C. Coefficients increased with attenuation, ranging from 0.35 for carbohydrate to 0.65 for calcium.

Conclusions:

Results indicate that this questionnaire had satisfactory reproducibility and reasonable validity.

Keywords

ReproducibilityValidityFood-frequency questionnaireLow-income Brazilian workersDietary recall
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 8 , December 2003 , pp. 821 - 827
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2003

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