Validation of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Micronutrient Intakes in an Urban US Sample of Multi-Ethnic Pregnant Women.
OBJECTIVE
To validate the Block98 food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for estimating antioxidant, methyl-nutrient and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intakes in a pregnant sample of ethnic/racial minority women in the United States (US).


METHODS
Participants (n = 42) were from the Programming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms study. Total micronutrient intakes from food and supplements was ascertained using the modified Block98 FFQ and two 24-h dietary recalls collected at random on nonconsecutive days subsequent to completion of the FFQ in mid-pregnancy. Correlation coefficients (r) corrected for attenuation from within-person variation in the recalls were calculated for antioxidants (n = 7), methyl-nutrients (n = 8), and PUFAs (n = 2).


RESULTS
The sample was largely ethnic minorities (38 % Black, 33 % Hispanic) with 21 % being foreign born and 41 % having less than or equal to a high school degree. Significant and adequate deattenuated correlations (r ≥ 0.40) for total dietary intakes of antioxidants were observed for vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc. Reasonable deattenuated correlations were also observed for methyl-nutrient intakes of vitamin B6, betaine, iron, and n:6 PUFAs; however, they did not reach significance. Most women were classified into the same or adjacent quartiles (≥70 %) for total (dietary + supplements) estimates of antioxidants (5 out of 7) and methyl-nutrients (4 out of 5).


CONCLUSIONS
The Block98 FFQ is an appropriate dietary method for evaluating antioxidants in pregnant ethnic/minorities in the US; it may be less efficient in measuring methyl-nutrient and PUFA intakes.
Kravis Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA. kelly.brunst@mssm.edu.
Kelly J
KJ
Brunst
Human Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Agricultural Sciences, Southern Illinois University, 1205 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA. srimathik@gmail.com.
Srimathi
S
Kannan
New York Medical College, 40 Sunshine Cottage Road, Valhalla, NY, 10595, USA. Yuming_Ni@nymc.edu.
Yu-Ming
YM
Ni
Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 17 East 102nd Street, New York, NY, 10029, USA. chris.gennings@mssm.edu.
Chris
C
Gennings
Department of Computer Science, College of Science, Southern Illinois University, 1205 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA. harishganguri78@gmail.com.
Harish B
HB
Ganguri
Kravis Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029, USA. rosalind.wright@mssm.edu.|Mindich Child Health and Development Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1428 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10029, USA. rosalind.wright@mssm.edu.
Rosalind J
RJ
Wright
D000328:Adult; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys / Q000592:standards*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D018977:Micronutrients / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000208:ethnology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
D000975:Antioxidants; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D018977:Micronutrients
Micronutrients; Minorities; Pregnancy; United States; Validation study