Validation and reproducibility of a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire for use in elderly Swiss women

• Published in: Journal of human nutrition and dietetics 2006-10, Vol.19 (5), p.321-330
• Main Authors: Dumartheray, E. Wynn, Krieg, M-A, Cornuz, J, Whittamore, D.R, Lovell, D.P, Burckhardt, P, Lanham-New, S.A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; bone density; Bone Density Conservation Agents - administration & dosage; bone fractures; bone health; Calcium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Cohort Studies; Diet; Diet Records; elderly; elderly nutrition; energy intake; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food Frequency Questionnaire; food frequency questionnaires; food intake; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Humans; model validation; nutrient intake; osteoporosis; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal - diagnosis; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal - prevention & control; reproducibility; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Swiss elderly population; Switzerland; Time Factors; validation; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; women
• ISSN: 0952-3871; 1365-277X
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-277X.2006.00721.x

The principal aim of this study was to develop a Swiss Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for the elderly population for use in a study to investigate the influence of nutritional factors on bone health. The secondary aim was to assess its validity and both short-term and long-term reproducibility. A 4-day weighed record (4 d WR) was applied to 51 randomly selected women of a mean age of 80.3 years. Subsequently, a detailed FFQ was developed, cross-validated against a further 44 4-d WR, and the short- (1 month, n = 15) and long-term (12 months, n = 14) reproducibility examined. French speaking part of Switzerland. The subjects were randomly selected women recruited from the Swiss Evaluation of the Methods of Measurement of Osteoporotic Fracture cohort study. Mean energy intakes by 4-d WR and FFQ showed no significant difference [1564.9 kcal (SD 351.1); 1641.3 kcal (SD 523.2) respectively]. Mean crude nutrient intakes were also similar (with nonsignifcant P-values examining the differences in intake) and ranged from 0.13 (potassium) to 0.48 (magnesium). Similar results were found in the reproducibility studies. These findings provide evidence that this FFQ adequately estimates nutrient intakes and can be used to rank individuals within distributions of intake in specific populations.