title: Development and evaluation of cultural food frequency questionnaires for South Asians, Chinese, and Europeans in North America.
abstract: We developed three ethnic food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) to characterize the diets of South Asian, Chinese, and European immigrants. FFQs were developed from foods reported in the diet records and recalls of 29 South Asians, 25 Chinese, and 20 Europeans participating in a pilot study from 1995-1996 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The FFQ and a seven-day diet record were then administered to 342 South Asians, 317 Chinese, and 346 Europeans participating in the Study of Health Assessment and Risk in Ethnic groups (SHARE) in three Canadian centers from 1996-1998. For FFQ validation, a subset of these participants completed a second seven-day diet record and second FFQ 8 to 10 months later. The FFQ generally underestimated macronutrient and overestimated micronutrient intake compared with the records. Consumption of most macronutrients was lower among South Asians. Energy-adjusted deattenuated correlation coefficients between the records and second FFQ ranged from 0.32 to 0.73 (South Asians), 0.17 to 0.84 (Chinese), and 0.30 to 0.83 (Europeans). The FFQs generally performed well and will be used to investigate diet-disease relations in SHARE. Lower correlations for dietary fats among Chinese persons (0.17 to 0.31) may be improved with more direct questions on the FFQ regarding brand, type, and amount of oil consumed in stirfry servings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. kelemen.linda@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Linda E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kelemen
authors.forename: Sonia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vuksan
authors.forename: Qilong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Koon K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Teo
authors.forename: Sudarshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devanesen
authors.forename: Salim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yusuf
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*