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Standardised coding of diet records: experiences from INTERMAP UK†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Rana Conway ,
Claire Robertson ,
Barbara Dennis ,
Jeremiah Stamler  and
Paul Elliott
Rana Conway
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Kings College London, 150 Stamford Street, London SE1 8WA, UK
Claire Robertson*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK
Barbara Dennis
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC, USA
Jeremiah Stamler
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive Medicine, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago IL, USA
Paul Elliott
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Claire Robertson, fax +44 20 7402 2150, email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Coding diet records is a basic element of most dietary surveys, yet it often receives little attention even though errors in coding can lead to flawed study results. In the INTERnational study of MAcro- and micronutrients and blood Pressure (INTERMAP study), efforts were made to minimise errors in coding the 18 720 diet records. Staff were centrally trained and certified before being able to process study data and ongoing quality control checks were performed. This involved the senior (site) nutritionist re-coding randomly selected diet records. To facilitate standardisation of coding in the UK, a code book was designed; it included information about coding brand items, density and portion size information, and default codes to be assigned when limited information was available for food items. It was found that trainees, despite previous experience in coding elsewhere, made coding errors that resulted in errors in estimates of daily energy and nutrient intakes. As training proceeded, the number of errors decreased. Compilation of the code book was labour-intensive, as information from food manufacturers and retailers had to be collected. Strategies are required to avoid repetition of this effort by other research groups. While the methods used in INTERMAP to reduce coding errors were time consuming, the experiences suggest that such errors are important and that they can be reduced.

Keywords

Nutrient coding24 h RecallStandardisationINTERMAP
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 91 , Issue 5 , May 2004 , pp. 765 - 771
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2004

Footnotes

†

copies of the INTERMAP study manuals and INTERMAP UK code book please contact the corresponding author.

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