Relative Validity of a Food Frequency Questionnaire with a Meat-Cooking and Heterocyclic Amine Module

Abstract

The nutrient and heterocyclic amine (HCA) intake of 165 healthy participants was assessed using a self-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), which included a meatcooking practices module. A database containing the HCA IntroductionNumerous studies have demonstrated an association between red meat intake and the etiology of various cancers (1-8). A group of mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), formed through pyrolysis of amino acids and creatine in meat using high temperature cooking techniques (9), have been implicated in this association. HCAs are among the most potent mutagens tested by the Ames Salmonella test (10) and have demonstrated their carcinogenicity in animals producing tumors in a variety of organs (11,12). Assessment of dietary HCA intake is challenging as the HCA composition of meat varies according to cooking technique, temperature, cooking time, and meat type (13-16). Epidemiological studies have tried to overcome these difficulties using surrogate markers of HCA intake such as the method of cooking, surface browning, total cooking time, and gravy intake (1, 17, 18). These studies produced suggestive but inconsistent links between HCA intake and cancer risk. Therefore, to investigate the role of HCAs in cancer etiology, improvements in the assessment of HCA intake are required. This study describes the development and validation of a meat-cooking practices module, which was included in a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), to assess dietary HCA intake with greater accuracy. A database of the HCA content of commonly consumed meats, subjected to representative cooking practices, was developed and used in conjunction with this meat-cooking practices module. The aim of the present study therefore was to assess the relative validity of the newly developed meatcooking practices module and to assess the absolute dietary HCA intake in a healthy population. Dietary intake of the two most abundant HCAs was considered: 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimadazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenyl-imidazo [4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP).

Meat and Meat-Mutagen Intake and Pancreatic Cancer Risk in the NIH-AARP Cohort

“…The relative validity of the meat module was similar to that of other nutrients and food quantified in FFQs (38,39). For example, the deattenuated correlations were 0.60 and 0.36 for 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo [4,5-f]quinoxaline (DiMeIQx) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), respectively (37).…”

“…A formal validation study for the meat-mutagen data has not been conducted within the NIH-AARP study cohort. The validity of the meat intake, meat-cooking methods, and doneness, as well as meat-derived mutagens, however, was assessed in a U.S. population of 165 healthy subjects who completed an FFQ that included the meat module and three sets of four nonconsecutive day diaries (37). Correlations were computed for intake between the two methods of dietary assessment (37).…”

“…The validity of the meat intake, meat-cooking methods, and doneness, as well as meat-derived mutagens, however, was assessed in a U.S. population of 165 healthy subjects who completed an FFQ that included the meat module and three sets of four nonconsecutive day diaries (37). Correlations were computed for intake between the two methods of dietary assessment (37). The relative validity of the meat module was similar to that of other nutrients and food quantified in FFQs (38,39).…”

Residential environmental exposures and other characteristics associated with detectable PAH-DNA adducts in peripheral mononuclear cells in a population-based sample of adult females

“…The FFQ that we used did not query participants on several parameters that influence BaP levels in meat, such as distinguishing between beef and hamburger consumption when asking about intake of red meat. Cantwell et al (2004) also found that the FFQ underestimates beefsteak, pork, sausage, and grilled/bbq chicken intake. Also, our results are based on a measure of PAH-DNA adducts assessed in peripheral mononuclear cells which have a short lifetime (Tuominen et al, 2002), yet our measure of grilled and smoked food reflected intake over the current decade of life.…”

Dietary intake of heterocyclic amines in relation to socio-economic, lifestyle and other dietary factors: estimates in a Swedish population

“…This is a costly undertaking, which currently is beyond our capacity. However, the high validity of the MDC dietary data and of the analytical data makes this 38 . They found that the FFQ gave lower estimated intakes of MeIQx and PhIP.…”