Validity and Reproducibility of a Semi-Quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire Designed to Measure the Nutrient Intakes of Canadian South Asian Infants at 12 Months of Age

Abstract

Purpose: Validated methods to assess diet of non-European infants are sparse. We assessed the validity and reliability of a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for South Asian infants in Canada. Methods: We developed an 80-item FFQ to assess infant nutrient intake in the South Asian Birth Cohort study (START). Caregivers completed the FFQ twice along with two 24-hour diet recalls. We measured infant plasma ferritin to cross-validate reported iron intake. We evaluated validity using Spearman’s rho (ρ), and reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: Seventy-six caregivers provided 2 FFQs and 2 24-hour diet recalls. Energy-adjusted, de-attenuated correlations between the FFQs and 24-hour diet recalls ranged from −0.29 (monounsaturated fat) through 1.00 (cholesterol). The FFQ overestimated energy intake by 128%. Iron intake by 24-hour diet recalls correlated with plasma ferritin (r = 0.41; P = 0.01; n = 37), but iron intake by FFQ did not. The average reproducibility coefficient of the FFQ ranged from 0.24 (macronutrients) to 0.65 (minerals). Conclusions: Among South Asian infants living in Canada, at least 2 days of diet recall completed with the primary caregiver yields more valid and reproducible estimates of nutrient intakes than a semi-quantitative FFQ, and it highlights that careful selection of FFQ portion sizes is important for assessing dietary intake with an FFQ.

Effects of Diet on the Microbiome and Serum Metabolome of South Asian Infants at 1 Year

“…Maternal and infant diet data were collected using validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) [30][31][32][33]. The maternal semi-quantitative FFQ was developed and validated for use among South Asians living in Canada.…”