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  • Original Article
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Inventory of experiences from national/regional dietary monitoring surveys using EPIC-Soft

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 65, pages S16–S28 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The EPIC-Soft 24-h recall (the software developed to conduct 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study) has been used in several regional/national dietary monitoring surveys. The main objective of the study was to present and discuss design, settings, logistics, data management and quality controls of dietary monitoring surveys that used EPIC-Soft for the collection of food consumption data.

Subjects/Methods:

Within European Food Consumption Validation (EFCOVAL), a questionnaire including questions on current/past EPIC-Soft experiences and requirements for the future was developed and sent to all institutes that used EPIC-Soft in their food consumption survey(s) (five surveys in four different countries).

Results:

EPIC-Soft was used in the national food consumption survey in Belgium (⩾15–97 years), Germany (14–80 years), the Netherlands (19–30 years and 2–6 years) and Spain (regional only; 4–18 years). Participation rates in these surveys were 46% (Belgium), 42% (Germany), 42% (Dutch survey in adults), 79% (Dutch survey in children) and 77% (Basque survey). Two 24-HDRs were collected by conducting face-to-face interviews in Belgium and Spain, and through telephone interviews in Germany and the Netherlands. Except the Netherlands (19–30 years), where the study was conducted only in autumn, in all other countries the study was conducted throughout the four seasons, including all days of the week. Interviews were conducted by dietitians, except in Germany and Spain. Mean EPIC-Soft interview time was 20–34 min. The dropout rate between the first and second interviews was low (<7.5%) in all surveys.

Conclusion:

EPIC-Soft has been used in different study settings and populations for nutritional exposure assessments. To guarantee the comparability of data across countries, recommendations for the design of future pan-European dietary monitoring surveys using EPIC-Soft should be drawn.

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Acknowledgements

The content of this article reflects only our views and the Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The Community funding under the Sixth Framework Program for the EFCOVAL Project is acknowledged (FOOD-CT-2006-022895).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    I Huybrechts, W De Keyzer, S De Henauw & M De Maeyer

  2. Dietary Exposure Assessment Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France

    I Huybrechts, C Casagrande, G Nicolas, H Freisling & N Slimani

  3. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    A Geelen, S P Crispim & J H de Vries

  4. Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Care Vesalius, University College Ghent, Ghent, Belgium

    W De Keyzer

  5. Department of Nutritional Behaviour, Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Karlsruhe, Germany

    C Krems

  6. Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, San Sebastian and Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

    P Amiano

  7. National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    E J de Boer & M C Ocké

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  1. I Huybrechts
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  2. C Casagrande
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  3. G Nicolas
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  4. A Geelen
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  5. S P Crispim
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  6. W De Keyzer
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  7. H Freisling
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  8. S De Henauw
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  9. M De Maeyer
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  10. C Krems
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  11. P Amiano
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  12. E J de Boer
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  13. M C Ocké
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  14. J H de Vries
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  15. N Slimani
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on behalf of the EFCOVAL Consortium

Corresponding author

Correspondence to I Huybrechts.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Contributors: IH, NS, CC and GN contributed to the development and concept of the EPIC-Soft specifications questionnaires. IH was responsible for the statistical analyses. IH, CC, GN, AG, JHdV, WDK, ITL, MDM, CK, PA, EJdB, MCO and NS contributed to the conception of the paper. All of us gave input on the drafting of the manuscript, and read and approved the final version.

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Huybrechts, I., Casagrande, C., Nicolas, G. et al. Inventory of experiences from national/regional dietary monitoring surveys using EPIC-Soft. Eur J Clin Nutr 65 (Suppl 1), S16–S28 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.84

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