A Three-Day Weighed Food Record and a Semiquantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire Are Valid Measures for Assessing the Folate and Vitamin B-12 Intakes of Women Aged 16 to 19 Years

Manuscript received 8 December 1997. Initial reviews completed 23 February 1998. Revision accepted 28 May 1998.

Timothy J. Green^*, O. Brian Allen, and Deborah L. O'Connor^**,

^* Division of Applied Human Nutrition and  Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1 Canada and ^** Pediatric Nutrition Research and Development, Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, OH 43215

The purpose of this study was to validate a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a 3-d weighed food record (3d-WFR) by comparing nutrient intakes estimated using these methods with serum folate, RBC folate and serum vitamin B-12 concentrations in 105 females aged 16-19 y. During an early morning clinic visit, subjects completed a self-administered, 116-item FFQ, blood was collected and they were trained to complete a 3d-WFR. Folate intakes as determined by the 3d-WFR (r = 0.65, P < 0.01) exhibited a stronger association with serum folate than did intakes from the FFQ (r = 0.48, P < 0.01) (P = 0.017). The correlations between folate intakes and RBC folate as determined by the FFQ (r = 0.42, P < 0.01) and 3d-WFR (r = 0.50, P < 0.01) methods did not differ. Vitamin B-12 intakes showed only a modest association with serum vitamin B-12 when supplement users were included in the analyses (FFQ, r = 0.25, P < 0.05; 3d-WFR, r = 0.32, P < 0.05). After excluding supplement users from the analyses, the relationship between vitamin B-12 intakes as determined by FFQ and serum vitamin B-12 was no longer significant. Median daily folate intakes (346 vs. 212 µg) and vitamin B-12 (4.9 vs. 1.9 µg) estimated from the FFQ were higher than those obtained from the 3d-WFR. In sum, these data suggest that both the FFQ and 3d-WFR are valid measures of assessing the folate intake of young women, and both appear to be useful in determining vitamin B-12 intake when supplemental users are included. The markedly different conclusions about absolute folate and vitamin B-12 intakes obtained using these two dietary methodologies should be taken into consideration when making recommendations about optimal folate intakes in relation to disease prevention.

The Journal of Nutrition Vol. 128 No. 10 October 1998, pp. 1665-1671
Copyright ©1998 by the American Society for Nutritional Sciences

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