Abstract
Background
Research on the relationship between maternal diet and pregnancy outcomes requires
valid dietary assessment tools in pregnancy.
Objective
This study aimed to develop and examine the relative validity and reproducibility
of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to estimate food group intake
in a sample of pregnant Jordanian women.
Design
In this validation study, food group intake from a culturally sensitive quantitative
FFQ was compared with food group intake from three 24-hour dietary recalls.
Participants and setting
The validation study was conducted from 2015 to 2017 at the maternity clinics in Jordan
University Hospital among 131 healthy singleton pregnant Jordanian women. Of these
women, 30 also took part in the reproducibility phase, which involved repeated completion
of the FFQ in a time frame of 1 month. Pregnant women who had gestational diabetes,
preeclampsia, and chronic diseases were excluded.
Main outcome measures
Relative validity and reproducibility of a 117-item quantitative FFQ used to estimate
usual food intake over a period of 1 month.
Statistical analyses performed
Intraclass correlation coefficients and weighted κ statistics were calculated to test
the reproducibility between the two administrations of the FFQ. Pearson correlations
were estimated to validate the FFQ against 24-hour dietary recalls. Cross-classification
and Bland-Altman plots were used to examine the agreement between the two dietary
assessment methods.
Results
The intraclass correlation coefficients between the two FFQs ranged from 0.24 for
legumes to 0.93 for processed meats. A moderate level of agreement was observed between
two FFQs. De-attenuated and energy-adjusted correlations ranged from 0.08 for sweets
and sugar to 0.93 for sugary drinks. On average, 50.9% and 45.2% of participants were
classified by the FFQ and the 24-hour dietary recalls into the same quartile based
on their crude and energy-adjusted food group intake, respectively. Bland-Altman plots
showed satisfactory agreement between two methods for most food groups.
Conclusions
The FFQ showed moderate reproducibility and good relative validity for most food groups.
Keywords
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Biography
S. S. Allehdan is a research assistant, Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Biography
R. F. Tayyem is a full professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Biography
L. M. Agraib is a research assistant, Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Biography
F. M. Thekrallah is an assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Biography
F. F. Asali is an assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 25, 2019
Accepted:
February 14,
2019
Received:
April 25,
2018
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT The Hashemite University provided a funding for this research project. The Hashemite University had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
