Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for assessing macronutrient and calcium intake in adult Pakistani population.
OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate a food frequency table (FFQ) for use in urban Pakistani population.


METHODS
A validation study.


METHODS
The Aga Khan University, Karachi, from June to November 2008.


METHODS
Healthy adult females, aged ³ 18 years who consented to be included in the study were inducted, while males, unhealthy females, aged below 18 years or who did not consent were excluded. The FFQ was administered once while 4, 24 hours recalls spread over a period of one year were administered as the reference method. Daily intakes for energy, protein, fat, and calcium intake were estimated for both the tools. Crude and energy adjusted correlations for nutrient intakes were computed for the FFQ and mean of 4, 24 hours recalls and serum N-telopeptide of type-I collagen (NTx).


RESULTS
The correlation coefficients for the FFQ with mean of 4, 24 hours recall ranged from 0.21 for protein to 0.36 for calcium, while the correlation for nutrient estimates from the FFQ with NTx ranged from -0.07 for calcium to 0.01 for energy.


CONCLUSIONS
Highly significant correlations were found for nutrient intakes estimated from the FFQ vs. those estimated from the mean of 4, 24 hours recalls but no correlations was found between nutrient estimates from the FFQ and serum NTx levels. FFQ was concluded to be a valid tool for assessing dietary intake of adult females in Pakistan.
Departments of Community Health Sciences/ Pathology and Microbiology3 / Family Medicine4, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Romaina
R
Iqbal
Medical Student, Ziauddin University, Karachi.
Mohammad Ali
MA
Haroon
Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Farhan Javed
FJ
Dar
Departments of Family Medicine, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Mujtaba
M
Bilgirami
Departments of Community Health Sciences, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Gulshan
G
Bano
Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
Aysha Habib
AH
Khan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002118:Calcium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000032:analysis; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D010154:Pakistan; D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
D024042:Collagen Type I; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D010455:Peptides; C052929:collagen type I trimeric cross-linked peptide; D002118:Calcium