title: The biomarker-based validity of a brief-type diet history questionnaire for estimating eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intakes in pregnant Japanese women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intakes is important for brain development in fetuses. Accurate assessment of EPA and DHA intakes is required in clinical settings to identify women with deficiency of these nutrients and provide an appropriate intervention for them. We examined the validity and reproducibility of a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ) for evaluating EPA and DHA intakes of pregnant Japanese women, to establish an easily administered dietary assessment tool.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 105 women in the second trimester and 102 women in the third trimester were studied at a university hospital in Tokyo, between November 2010 and February 2012. The reference values for the validation study were plasma concentrations of EPA and DHA. For the reproducibility study, 54 women completed the BDHQ twice, within a 4-week period in the second trimester.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Energy-adjusted intakes of EPA, DHA, and EPA+DHA were significantly associated with the corresponding plasma concentrations (rs=0.354, rs=0.305, and rs=0.327 in the second trimester; rs=0.391, rs=0.316, and rs=0.358 in the third trimester, respectively). Intraclass correlation coefficients for the two-time BDHQ were 0.543 (EPA), 0.611 (DHA), and 0.581 (EPA+DHA). In the Bland-Altman plots, the intakes of EPA, DHA, and EPA+DHA in the two-time BDHQ showed that the values for most participants were in the accepted range of agreement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BDHQ has an acceptable validity level for assessing EPA and DHA intakes among Japanese women in the second and third trimesters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery and Women's Health, Division of Health Sciences and Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Email: mi-shi@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery and Women's Health, Division of Health Sciences and Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haruna
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery and Women's Health, Division of Health Sciences and Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Nursing Technology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryoko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011247:Pregnancy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid