Dietary intake and development of a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire for the Barbados National Cancer Study.
OBJECTIVE
To develop a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) for the Barbados National Cancer Study (BNCS) that will permit examination of associations of diet with breast and prostate cancer.


METHODS
Population intake data from the year 2000 Barbados Food Consumption and Anthropometric Surveys (BFCAS 2000) were used to derive a list of foods consumed by the population. A 192-item draft QFFQ was developed from this list.


METHODS
Barbados, West Indies provides an ideal environment to understand cancer risk in African-origin populations, with high relevance to African-Americans. The BNCS is a population-based case-control study examining risk factors for breast and prostate cancer in such populations.


METHODS
A total of 1600 persons, 18 years and older, completed a 24-hour recall in the BFCAS 2000. Fifty of 63 randomly selected residents (79% response rate) gave additional updated information on foods consumed.


RESULTS
The 50 participants provided a one-time 24-hour recall and completed the draft QFFQ. The final instrument contains 148 items: breads, cakes, cereals = 17; rice, pastas, noodles = 8; dairy = 10; meat, fish, poultry = 42; fruit = 16; vegetables = 26; soft drinks = 14; alcoholic beverages = 5; others = 10. Additional questions include supplement use and food preparation methods such as grilling.


CONCLUSIONS
The final instrument is concise, complete and the most up-to-date for assessing the food and nutrient intake of African-origin Barbadians and the associations with breast and prostate cancer.
Sharma
Sangita
S
Cancer Etiology Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, University of Hawaii, 1236 Lauhala Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA. gsharma@crch.hawaii.edu
Cao
Xia
X
Harris
Rachel
R
Hennis
Anselm J M
AJ
Leske
M Cristina
MC
Wu
Suh-Yuh
SY
D001460:Barbados / Q000453:epidemiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires