BackgroundMeal-Q and its shorter version, MiniMeal-Q, are 2 new Web-based food frequency questionnaires. Their meal-based and interactive format was designed to promote ease of use and to minimize answering time, desirable improvements in large epidemiological studies.ObjectiveWe evaluated the validity of energy and macronutrient intake assessed with Meal-Q and MiniMeal-Q as well as the reproducibility of Meal-Q.MethodsHealthy volunteers aged 20-63 years recruited from Stockholm County filled out the 174-item Meal-Q. The questionnaire was compared to 7-day weighed food records (WFR; n=163), for energy and macronutrient intake, and to doubly labeled water (DLW; n=39), for total energy expenditure. In addition, the 126-item MiniMeal-Q was evaluated in a simulated validation using truncated Meal-Q data. We also assessed the answering time and ease of use of both questionnaires.ResultsBland-Altman plots showed a varying bias within the intake range for all validity comparisons. Cross-classification of quartiles placed 70%-86% in the same/adjacent quartile with WFR and 77% with DLW. Deattenuated and energy-adjusted Pearson correlation coefficients with the WFR ranged from r=0.33-0.74 for macronutrients and was r=0.18 for energy. Correlations with DLW were r=0.42 for Meal-Q and r=0.38 for MiniMeal-Q. Intraclass correlations for Meal-Q ranged from r=0.57-0.90. Median answering time was 17 minutes for Meal-Q and 7 minutes for MiniMeal-Q, and participants rated both questionnaires as easy to use.ConclusionsMeal-Q and MiniMeal-Q are easy to use and have short answering times. The ranking agreement is good for most of the nutrients for both questionnaires and Meal-Q shows fair reproducibility.

BackgroundIncreased use of the Internet provides new opportunities for collecting data in large studies. The aim of our new Web-based questionnaire, Active-Q, is to assess total physical activity and inactivity in adults. Active-Q assesses habitual activity during the past year via questions in four different domains: (1) daily occupation, (2) transportation to and from daily occupation, (3) leisure time activities, and (4) sporting activities.ObjectiveThe objective of our study is to validate Active-Q’s energy expenditure estimates using the doubly labeled water (DLW) method, and to assess the reproducibility of Active-Q by comparing the results of the questionnaire completed by the same group on two occasions.MethodsThe validity and reproducibility of Active-Q were assessed in a group of 37 individuals, aged 20 to 65 years. Active-Q was distributed via email to the participants. The total energy expenditure of the participants was assessed using DLW for 11 consecutive days.ResultsThe median time to complete Active-Q was 6.1 minutes. The majority of participants (27/37, 73%) reported that the questionnaire was “easy” or “very easy” to answer. On average, Active-Q overestimated the total daily energy expenditure by 440 kJ compared with the DLW. The Spearman correlation between the two methods was r = 0.52 (P < .001). The intraclass correlation coefficient for total energy expenditure between the results of Active-Q completed on two occasions was 0.83 (95% CI 0.73-0.93).ConclusionsActive-Q is a valid and reproducible method of assessing total energy expenditure. It is also a user-friendly method and suitable for Web-based data collection in large epidemiological studies.

BackgroundThe meal- and Web-based food frequency questionnaires, Meal-Q and MiniMeal-Q, were developed for cost-efficient assessment of dietary intake in epidemiological studies.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the relative validity of micronutrient and fiber intake assessed with Meal-Q and MiniMeal-Q. The reproducibility of Meal-Q was also evaluated.MethodsA total of 163 volunteer men and women aged between 20 and 63 years were recruited from Stockholm County, Sweden. Assessment of micronutrient and fiber intake with the 174-item Meal-Q was compared to a Web-based 7-day weighed food record (WFR). Two administered Meal-Q questionnaires were compared for reproducibility. The 126-item MiniMeal-Q, developed after the validation study, was evaluated in a simulated validation by using truncated Meal-Q data.ResultsThe study population consisted of approximately 80% women (129/163) with a mean age of 33 years (SD 12) who were highly educated (130/163, 80% with >12 years of education) on average. Cross-classification of quartiles with the WFR placed 69% to 90% in the same/adjacent quartile for Meal-Q and 67% to 89% for MiniMeal-Q. Bland-Altman plots with the WFR and the questionnaires showed large variances and a trend of increasing underestimation with increasing intakes. Deattenuated and energy-adjusted Spearman rank correlations between the questionnaires and the WFR were in the range ρ=.25-.69, excluding sodium that was not statistically significant. Cross-classifications of quartiles of the 2 Meal-Q administrations placed 86% to 97% in the same/adjacent quartile. Intraclass correlation coefficients for energy-adjusted intakes were in the range of .50-.76.ConclusionsWith the exception of sodium, this validation study demonstrates Meal-Q and MiniMeal-Q to be useful methods for ranking micronutrient and fiber intake in epidemiological studies with Web-based data collection.

Background:Alcohol consumption has been suggested to increase risk of breast cancer through a mechanism that also increases mammographic density. Whether the association between alcohol consumption and mammographic density is modified by background breast cancer risk has, however, not been studied.Methods:We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 53 060 Swedish women aged 40–74 years. Alcohol consumption was assessed using a web-based self-administered questionnaire. Mammographic density was measured using the fully-automated volumetric Volpara method. The Tyrer–Cuzick prediction model was used to estimate risk of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the association between alcohol consumption and volumetric mammographic density and the potential influence of Tyrer–Cuzick breast cancer risk.Results:Overall, increasing alcohol consumption was associated with higher absolute dense volume (cm3) and per cent dense volume (%). The association between alcohol consumption and absolute dense volume was most pronounced among women with the highest (⩾5%) Tyrer–Cuzick 10-year risk. Among high-risk women, women consuming 5.0–9.9, 10.0–19.9, 20.0–29.9, and 30.0–40.0 g of alcohol per day had 2.6 cm3 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.2–4.9), 2.9 cm3 (95% CI, −0.6 to 6.3), 4.6 cm3 (95% CI, 1.5–7.7), and 10.8 cm3 (95% CI, 4.8–17.0) higher absolute dense volume, respectively, as compared with women abstaining from alcohol. A trend of increasing alcohol consumption and higher absolute dense volume was seen in women at low (⩽3%) risk, but not in women at moderate (3.0–4.9%) risk.Conclusion:Alcohol consumption may increase breast cancer risk through increasing mammographic density, particularly in women at high background risk of breast cancer.

Objective: The Nordic countries have published joint dietary recommendations, the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR), since 1980. We evaluated adherence to the NNR as a measure of a healthy diet and its potential association with self-reported upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). Design: A prospective, population-based study with a follow-up period of 4 months. Dietary intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative FFQ with ninetysix items, along with other lifestyle factors, at baseline. URTI was assessed every three weeks. A Poisson regression model was used to control for age, sex and other confounding factors. Setting: A middle-sized county in northern Sweden. Subjects: Swedish men and women (n 1509) aged 20-60 years. Results: The NNR include recommendations on macronutrient proportions, physical activity and intake of micronutrients, sodium, fibre and alcohol. We found that overall adherence to the NNR was moderately good. In addition, we found that high adherence to the NNR (.5?5 adherence points) was not associated with a lower risk of URTI (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0?89, 95 % CI 0?73, 1?08) compared with low adherence (,4?5 adherence points). When investigating individual components of the NNR, only high physical activity was associated with lower URTI risk (IRR 5 0?82, 95 % CI 0?69, 0?97) whereas none of the dietary components were associated with risk of URTI. Conclusions: Overall adherence to the NNR was moderately good. Overall adherence to the NNR was not associated with URTI risk in our study. However, when investigating individual components of the NNR, we found that high physical activity was associated with lower URTI risk.