Development and simulated validation of a food-frequency questionnaire for the Colombian population.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) useful for ranking of nutrient intakes.


METHODS
Subjects consuming their regular diet completed 7 days of weighed intake registry (7-WIR). Foods for the FFQ were selected by stepwise multiple regression. The FFQ was then completed for each subject using data on individual food consumption from the 7-WIR. The correlation and agreement between the extrapolated FFQ and the 7-WIR data were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rS) and Bland and Altman's limits of agreement (LOA).


METHODS
Bucaramanga, Colombia.


METHODS
We studied 97 randomly selected 20-40-year-old subjects.


RESULTS
Sixty foods were selected for the FFQ. The 7-WIR and the extrapolated FFQ intake estimates correlated well. rS was 0.58 for energy, 0.53 for carbohydrate, 0.50 for total fat, and 0.48 for protein. For micronutrients, rS varied from 0.46 (manganese) to 0.71 (vitamin B12). FFQ average intake estimates were 83%, 80%, 86.2% and 86.4% of 7-WIR estimates for energy, carbohydrate, total fat and protein, respectively. LOA for these nutrients ranged between 45% and 165%. FFQ micronutrient intakes were on average 96% (median) of those from the 7-WIR, and the median lower and upper LOA were 50% and 203%. However, there was no indication that the degree of agreement varied with the level of intake.


CONCLUSIONS
According to our simulated validation, this FFQ may be useful to rank subjects by nutrient intake. Its validity against standard independent measurements and its applicability to other subsets of the Colombian population should be carefully considered.
Bautista
Leonelo E
LE
Centro de Investigación Epidemiológica, Observatorio Epidemiológico de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia. lebautista@wisc.edu
Herrán
Oscar F
OF
Pryer
Jane A
JA
D000328:Adult; D003105:Colombia; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D018977:Micronutrients