Relative validation of a short questionnaire to assess the dietary habits of pregnant American Indian women

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare a short dietary screener developed to assess diet quality with interviewer‐administered telephone 24‐hour dietary recalls in a population of pregnant Northern Plains (NP) American Indian women. Participants were recruited from NP clinical sites of the Prenatal Alcohol and SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Network, as part of a large, prospective, multidisciplinary study. Prenatal PASS participants who enrolled prior to 24 weeks gestation were eligible to participate. Repeated 24‐hour dietary recalls were collected using the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) software and a short dietary screener was administered intended to capture usual dietary intake during pregnancy. The available recalls were averaged across days for analysis. Items were grouped from the recalls to match the food group data estimates for the screener (e.g., total vegetables, total fruit, total dairy, total and whole grains). Deattenuated Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between the two data sources after correcting for the within‐person variation in the 24‐hour recall data. A total of 164 eligible women completed the screener and at least two 24‐hour dietary recalls and were included in the analyses. Pearson deattenuated correlation coefficients between the diet screener and the dietary recalls for the majority of food groups were 0.40 or higher. This short diet screener to assess usual diet appears to be a valid instrument for use in evaluating diet quality among pregnant American Indian women.

Validation and calibration of the Food Consumption Frequency Questionnaire for pregnant women

“…Some food consumption studies finalized the validation of the questionnaire at this methodological stage, 28 , 33 , 34 while others did so after the calibration of nutrients was adjusted for energy. 35 – 37 However, in this study, besides validation and calibration, a new correlation test was performed between the calibrated nutrient values and those obtained by the reference method.…”

“…Thus, the statistical analyses were consistent with the validation studies of FFQ in pregnant women, with Pearson or Spearman's correlation coefficient for validation purposes. 32 Some food consumption studies finalized the validation of the questionnaire at this methodological stage, 28,33,34 while others did so after the calibration of nutrients was adjusted for energy. [35][36][37] However, in this study, besides validation and calibration, a new correlation test was performed between the calibrated nutrient values and those obtained by the reference method.…”

Diet Quality of Pregnant American Indian Women in the Northern Plains

“…The PASS study was approved by multiple institutional review boards and tribal boards and was reviewed by an independent advisory and safety monitoring board. Data presented here are from women from the Northern Plains American Indian site who participated in an ancillary study to validate the PASS Northern Plains Diet Screener (9). This ancillary study was approved by the Sanford Health Institutional Review Board in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.…”