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A method comparison of a food frequency questionnaire to measure folate, choline, betaine, vitamin C and carotenoids with 24-h dietary recalls in women of reproductive age

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 346–351 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The objective of this study was to conduct a method comparison of a modified food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), designed to estimate usual dietary intake of selected micronutrients and antioxidants including folate, choline, betaine, vitamin C and carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein, lycopene and β-cryptoxanthin) with 24-h dietary recalls (24-HR) in women of reproductive age.

Subjects/Methods:

Sixty-four British women of reproductive age (18–40 years) were recruited in Oxford, UK and provided complete dietary data for analysis.

Methods:

We compared micronutrient estimates from the FFQ against estimates derived from three multiple-pass, 24-HR interviews, by evaluating Pearson’s correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots.

Results:

Median intakes of most nutrients were higher when measured by FFQ compared with 24-HR. Strong correlation coefficients were observed for folate (r=0.80) and choline (r=0.68), whereas moderate correlation coefficients were observed for vitamin C (0.50) and lycopene (0.43). Weak correlation coefficients were observed for betaine (0.39) and other carotenoids (r=0.26–0.38). Bland–Altman plots indicated that there was a large amount of variability in the FFQ estimates of nutrient intakes compared to those using 24-HR, particularly for carotenoids.

Conclusions:

The findings indicate that this FFQ estimated higher mean intakes for most nutrients. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were comparable with previous research; however, the Bland–Altman plots suggest a high variability in mean nutrient estimates between the FFQ and 24-h. We recommend further investigation of the validity of this FFQ before use.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Joanna Henry and Jeremy Taylor for their hard work, recruiting participants and collecting data, and to all the participants for their time and cooperation. We would also like to thank Dr Pufulete for allowing us to modify a FFQ designed by her team.

Author contributions

Victoria Coathup contributed to the study design, data collection, analysis and prepared the final manuscript. Simon Wheeler contributed to the study design and reviewed and approved the final manuscript. Lesley Smith contributed to drafts and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Social Work and Public Health, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    V Coathup & L Smith

  2. MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK

    S Wheeler

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Correspondence to V Coathup.

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Coathup, V., Wheeler, S. & Smith, L. A method comparison of a food frequency questionnaire to measure folate, choline, betaine, vitamin C and carotenoids with 24-h dietary recalls in women of reproductive age. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 346–351 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.159

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