Validation of the Romanian Version of a Self-Administered Food Frequency Questionnaire

Abstract

Background and aims: The present study aimed to assess the relative validity of the Romanian version of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in evaluating habitual dietary intake. Material and methods: We used an FFQ that comprised questions on 90 beverage and food items from Nurses Health Questionnaire. The linguistic interchangeability between translation and original questions of the FFQ was assessed in 50 bilingual adults. Also, the FFQ was validated against the 24-h recall diary in 85 participants from ORO study enrolled in Cluj County. Results: The Spearman correlation coefficients between the Romanian and English versions of the FFQ ranged between 0.614 and 1.000, with the majority having values >0.900 (p <0.05 for all). Caloric and nutrient intake estimated from FFQ was significantly correlated with that derived from 24-h dietary recall (correlation coefficients 0.243 to 0.339; p-values <0.05). >70% of the participants were classified in the same or adjacent quartiles of energy and nutrient consumption showing a good agreement between FFQ and 24-h dietary recall. Tested FFQ questionnaire had a good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.931 and 0.949, respectively. Conclusion: Tested FFQ had an acceptable relative validity and can be used to estimate caloric and macronutrient intake.