Assessment of trans-fatty acid intake with a food frequency questionnaire and validation with adipose tissue levels of trans-fatty acids

Past studies of the association of trans-fatty acid intake with coronary he art disease have been hindered by the lack of a database on the trans-fatty acid content of various foods. The authors used new data from the US Depar tment of Agriculture to estimate trans-fatty acid intake using a self-admin istered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and they assessed the validity of the FFQ by comparing the dietary estimates with trans-fatty acid concent rations in adipose tissue. The 1996 study included 27 women and 24 men aged 51-78 years. The mean consumption of total trans-fatty acids estimated fro m the FFQ was 2.24 g per day and 5% of total dietary fat. The mean concentr ation of total trans-fatty acids in buttock adipose tissue was 4.7% of tota l fatty acids. Pearson correlations between total dietary intake of trans-f atty acids and total trans-fatty acid levels in adipose tissue were 0.67 (9 5% confidence interval (CI) 0.36-0.84) among men and 0.58 (95% CI 0.26-0.79 ) among women. After adjustment for energy intake, age, and body mass index , the correlation coefficients were 0.76 (95% Cl 0.51-0.89) among men and 0 .52 (95% CI 0.17-0.75) among women. The FFQ validated in this study is an i mportant new tool for assessing usual intake of trans-fatty acids.