No abstract

It is well known that the leading causes of death are now chronic diseases such as cancer, cerebrovascular problems and heart disease in developed countries, including Japan. 1 They are related to daily lifestyle, including dietary habit, alcohol drinking, smoking, physical exercise, and factors for stress. Because dietary habit, in particular, appears to play a major role in their pathogenesis, batteries of tests to assess intake of foods/nutrients, including fats/fatty acids, antioxidants and dietary fibers, are needed for epidemiologic studies.There are several tools available, including diet records (DRs)/weighed diet records (WDRs), 24-hour recall, food frequency questionnaires (FFQs), and duplicate methods. Calculation of intake of nutrientsWe computed the average daily consumption of energy and selected nutrients using information from the FFQ and lifestyle questionnaire, including consumption of alcohol. According to the regression analysis, selected nutrients were adopted as dependent parameters and foods/food groups consumed, intake frequency, portion size (in grams) from our database, 5,8 or typical/standard values from the literature, nutrient contents per 100 grams of foods/food groups listed in the respective composition tables or of the model recipes were assumed to be independent variables. [9][10][11][12][13] With the WDRs, we calculated mean daily intakes of selected nutrients by multiplying the consumption of foods/food groups (in grams) and nutrient contents per 100 grams of foods as listed in the composition tables or model recipes. ValidationFirst, we compared mean daily intakes of energy and 26 selected nutrients gauged with the FFQ against those with the 3d-WDRs. Differences in means and ratios were computed with the FFQ vs. 3d-WDRs values, and examined by t-test using Excel ® and the SPSS ® -10.0 software package.Second, we calculated crude Pearson's correlation coefficients (CCs), log-transformed Pearson's CCs, log-transformed and energy-adjusted Pearson's CCs, and de-attenuated, log-transformed and energy-adjusted Pearson's CCs between intakes of selected nutrients based on the FFQ and 3d-WDRs. Energy adjustment was executed using regression models. 14 De-attenuated Pearson's CCs were computed by partitioning within-and inter-individual variations by one way of analysis of variance according to the formula described elsewhere. 3, 15-17 Crude Spearman's rank CCs and energy-adjusted Spearman's rank CCs were also calculated. 18,19 Statistical significance was verified with the 95% confidence interval.Third, after categorizing daily intakes of nutrients quantified with the FFQ and 3d-WDRs into quartiles, we computed percentages of exact agreement, agreement within adjacent categories, and disagreement. Ethical issuesOur study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Internal Review Board at Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Profile of study subjectsThe mean ages standard deviations (SDs) (minimum -max...

BACKGROUND: A self-administered questionnaire on dietary habits used in the JACC Study contained a 40-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Although more than 110 thousand subjects enrolled in JACC Study and responded to the FFQ, no validation study has been conducted to date. METHODS: Eighty-five volunteers among the cohort members completed 2 FFQs (FFQs 1&2) and 12-day weighed dietary records (WDR). The interval between the two FFQs was one year. During the one year, the subjects carried out a 3-consecutive-day WDR in each season. We tested the reproducibility by using two FFQs. Also, we tested the validity of the FFQ by using the 12-day WDR as a gold standard. RESULTS: The intake frequencies of the 2 FFQs often agreed, showing the Spearman correlation coefficients ranging from 0.42 (edible wild plants) to 0.86 (coffee). The Spearman correlation coefficients of the energy and nutrient intakes from FFQ2, and that of the 12-day WDR were 0.20(energy) to 0.46 (animal protein, potassium). After adjusting the energy intake, the correlation coefficients showed 0.21(fish fat) to 0.51(animal fat). When classifying the FFQ2 and WDR by quartiles and examining the degree of agreement between the two methods, we obtained its median 30%. CONCLUSIONS: The FFQ is suitable to deal with a large group of subjects. However, since the energy and the amount of nutrient intake from this FFQ can not show the overall dietary intake situation, the subjects’ dietary intake should be assessed by categories.

We conducted a large‐scale, hospital‐based case‐control study to evaluate differences and similarities in the risk factors of female breast cancer according to menopausal status. This study is based on a questionnaire survey on life style routinely obtained from outpatients who first visited the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1992. Among 36,944 outpatients, 1,186 women with breast cancer detected by histological examination were taken as the case group (607 premenopausal women and 445 postmenopausal women) and 23,163 women confirmed to be free of cancer were selected as the control group. New findings and reconfirmed factors of breast cancer were as follows. 1) The risk of at least one breast cancer history among subjects’ first‐degree relatives was relatively high among pre‐ as well as post‐menopausal women. 2) A protective effect of physical activity against breast cancer was observed among both pre‐ and post‐menopausal women. 3) Dietary control decreased the risk of premenopausal breast cancer. 4) Current smoking and drinking elevated the risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women. 5) Decreasing trends of breast cancer risk were associated with intake of bean curd, green‐yellow vegetables, potato or sweet potato, chicken and ham or sausage in premenopausal women, while in postmenopausal women a risk reduction was associated with a more frequent intake of boiled, broiled and/or raw fish (sashimi). Further study will be needed to clarify the age group‐ and/or birth cohort‐specific risk factors for breast cancer among the young generation in Japan.