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Reliability and validity of a food-frequency questionnaire for Chinese postmenopausal women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Liangzhi Xu ,
Michael J Dibley  and
Catherine D'Este
Liangzhi Xu*
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Second West China Hospital, West China Medical Centre, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, People's Republic ofChina
Michael J Dibley
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), School of Medical Practice and Population Health, Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Catherine D'Este
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB), School of Medical Practice and Population Health, Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
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Abstract

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Objectives:

(1) To determine the reliability and validity of a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use in epidemiological research in postmenopausal women; and (2) to compare the volume estimation (VE) and weight estimation (WE) method of administration of this questionnaire.

Design:

An initial list of foods was derived and modified after pre-testing in 22 subjects. Test-retest reliability was assessed in 21 subjects who had repeat administrations of the questionnaire 14 days apart (FFQ1, FFQ2). The validity of the FFQ was assessed by comparing nutrient intakes with those from a 4-day food record.

Setting:

Chengdu, People's Republic of China.

Subjects:

Twenty-two postmenopausal women (50–70 years) were recruited from The Second University Hospital, West China University of Medical Sciences, Chengdu and participated in the pre-test. Another 21 women (50–70 years) were randomly selected from the general population of all five districts of Chengdu and participated in the reliability and validity sub-studies.

Results:

Energy, protein, carbohydrate, magnesium and sodium intakes in this sample were less than the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for 45–70-year-old women in China. Intake of non-cooking fat was higher than the Chinese RDA. Pearson correlation coefficients and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) for reliability of the VE FFQ ranged from 0.51 to 0.85 and from 0.51 to 0.81, respectively; for the WE FFQ, they ranged from 0.22 to 0.86 and from 0.21 to 0.81. Correlation coefficients and ICCs for validity of the WE FFQ ranged from 0.36 to 0.69 and from 0.34 to 0.57, respectively; corresponding values for the VE FFQ were −0.30 to 0.65 and −0.14 to 0.65.

Conclusions:

Both the VE and WE FFQs were reliable and valid except for sodium intake. The VE FFQ provided more valid estimates of nutrient intakes than did the WE FFQ.

Keywords

Food-frequency questionnaireNutrient intakeReliabilityValidityPostmenopausal womenChina
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , February 2004 , pp. 91 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2004

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