Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment of usual nutrient and food intakes in children of 18 months old. METHODS: We included 103 toddlers aged 18 months from the Nutrition in Early Life and Asthma (NELA) birth cohort study. A 47-item FFQ was administered twice to parents with a 3-month interval. During that period, we also performed three non-consecutive 24 h dietary recalls (24hDRs) and oral mucosa samples for determining the fatty acid profile (glycerophospholipids). We estimated correlation coefficients of reproducibility for nutrient and food group intakes by comparing both FFQs and validity coefficients by comparing nutrient intakes between the second FFQ and the average of the three 24hDRs. We also explored biochemical validity by comparing the intake of fish from the FFQ with the percentage of fatty acids in oral mucosa cells. RESULTS: The average of correlation coefficients for FFQ reproducibility was r = 0.48 for energy-adjusted nutrient intakes (ranging from r = 0.28 for Na to r = 0.62 for Mg and Zn) and r = 0.35 for the intake of energy-adjusted food groups. The average correlation coefficient for FFQ validity on nutrient intakes was r = 0.48, ranging from r = 0.16 for α-carotene to r = 0.75 for vitamin E. We also found a positive correlation between total omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid percentages in oral mucosa cells and the intake of total and white fish, r = 0.31 and r = 0.34, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that our short FFQ demonstrated moderate reproducibility (mean r = 0.48) and validity (mean r = 0.48) for dietary assessment of most nutrients and foods in 18-month-old children in Spain. This FFQ provides an efficient and minimally invasive method for evaluating toddler dietary intake, particularly in Mediterranean contexts.
Source: Nutrients
DOI: 10.3390/nu16244403
Authors: Sandra Gonzalez-Palacios, Carolina Ojeda-Belokon, Alejandro Oncina-Canovas, Laura-María Compañ-Gabucio, María-Teresa Pastor-Fajardo, Adrian Pérez, Antonio Gázquez, Elvira Larqué, Eva Morales, Jesús Vioque, on behalf of the NELA Study Group
Institutions: Universitat de Miguel Hernández d'Elx, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), Hospital General Universitario de Elche, Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria, Universidad de Murcia
Language: English
Topic: Nutritional Studies and Diet
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,296
Awards: G1075404386, G1856197669, G2829351416, G2935738396, G3258324532, G3597828549, G3695340442, G3836291923, Impacto de la exposición in útero a contaminación atmosférica sobre la función inmune al nacimiento: identificación de mecanismos epigenéticos, G4329465377, G4338288233, G5736894692, Factores asociados a la transmisión de la dieta Mediterránea de madres a hijos/as durante la infancia y su asociación con niveles de contaminantes ambientales en orina y marcadores de riesgo cardiometabólico., G6432733876, G718265111, G7216686642, Descubriendo marcas moleculares del uso de suplementos durante el embarazo: implicaciones de salud pública para la salud materno-fetal (MarkS-UP), G9000137613
OpenAlex ID: W4405704055