A FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE CAN DETECT PREGNANCY-RELATED CHANGES IN DIET

Objective To determine whether a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) ca n detect changes in dietary intake before pregnancy to mid-pregnancy r elative to a 4-day food record. Design FFQs and 4-day, weighed food re cords (4DRs) were completed during similar time intervals before pregn ancy and again near mid-pregnancy by women served by a large health ma intenance organization in the Minneapolis-St Paul, Minn, area. The out come of interest was change in the intake of energy and 16 nutrients. Participants were members of the Diana Project, a prospective study of relationships among prepregnancy and pregnancy nutritional and other exposures and reproductive outcomes. Fifty-six (51%) of the eligible w omen completed the study. Subjects Well-educated, healthy, white women . Statistical analyses performed Spearman rank order correlations. Res ults Mean energy and nutrient intake levels estimated using the 4DR we re generally higher than those estimated using the FFQ. Correlations b etween change in energy and nutrient intakes measured by the 4DR and F FQ ranged from .75 for vitamin C to .02 for cholesterol and averaged . 48. Applications Comparisons with 4DRs indicate that the FFQ used in t his study is appropriate for obtaining reliable estimates of prepregna ncy to mid-pregnancy changes in intake of energy and a number of nutri ents in similar groups of women.