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Adjusting for energy intake in dietary pattern investigations using principal components analysis

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 62, pages 931–938 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

The effect of energy adjustment on variables entered into principal component analysis (PCA) to derive dietary patterns has received little attention.

Design and methods:

As part of regular self-completion questionnaires, used in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, pregnant women were asked to record the frequency of consumption of a variety of food items. A total of 12 053 women completed the questionnaire. Individual dietary types were identified using PCA, before and after adjusting the food variables for energy intake. Associations with estimated nutrient intakes and with birthweight were examined for the two solutions and when energy adjustment was performed at a later stage of the analysis.

Results:

Slight differences were seen in terms of the components extracted and the factor loadings obtained. The associations with nutrient intakes showed that there was a general reduction in the size of the correlation coefficients for the energy-adjusted components compared to the unadjusted components. There did not appear to be any difference in the size of the effects of the dietary pattern scores on birthweight, whether energy was adjusted for before entry into the PCA or after.

Conclusions:

In this sample, it is not necessary to adjust for energy intake before entry into a PCA analysis to determine dietary patterns when using food frequency questionnaire data. Effects of energy intake can be determined at a later stage in the analytical process.

This study determines the effect of adjusting for energy on dietary patterns resulting from PCA and the subsequent effect on future outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. The UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Bristol provided core support for ALSPAC. This work was also partially funded by a Wellcome Trust VIP award to KN and by the Arthritic Association supporting KN and PME. This publication is a work by us. We all contributed to the writing of the article. We have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    K Northstone, P M Emmett & I S Rogers

  2. Department of Oral and Dental Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    A R Ness

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  1. K Northstone
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  2. A R Ness
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  3. P M Emmett
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  4. I S Rogers
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Correspondence to K Northstone.

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Guarantor: K Northstone.

Contributors: KN was responsible for the data analysis and interpretation and drafted the manuscript. PME and IR were responsible for the design, collection and availability of the dietary data and revision of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the intellectual content and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Northstone, K., Ness, A., Emmett, P. et al. Adjusting for energy intake in dietary pattern investigations using principal components analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr 62, 931–938 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602789

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