Test-Retest Reliability and Convergent Validity of Two Brief Fruit and Vegetable Intake Questionnaires among School-Aged Children

Validation of a six-item dietary calcium screening tool among HIV patients in China

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with HIV are at increased risk for osteoporosis. A healthy diet with adequate Ca is recommended to promote bone health. However, lengthy nutritional assessments pose barriers to routine screenings in clinical practice. This study aimed to examine the validity and reproducibility of a six-item dietary Ca screening tool among Chinese individuals with HIV.

DESIGN

We conducted a two time-point study in an outpatient setting. Volunteers self-administered the six-item tool upon enrolment and again at 1-month follow-up. At baseline, participants also completed a validated FFQ and surveys regarding demographic and clinical risk factors.

SETTING

Beijing, China; Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

PARTICIPANTS

Upon enrolment, 127 individuals with HIV participated in the study, of whom 83 completed the follow-up screening.

RESULTS

Mean age of participants was 35·2 (sd 9·3) years, average BMI was 22·8 (sd 3·8) kg/m2 and 89 % were men. Among the participants, 54·7 % reported Ca intake less than 800 mg/d. The six-item tool demonstrated fair-to-moderate relative validity with a correlation of 0·39 and 75·7 % of subjects classified in same/adjacent quartiles as the reference, and moderate-to-good reproducibility with a correlation of 0·60 and 83·1 % of subjects classified in same/adjacent quartiles. Finally, receiver operating characteristic analyses yielded a sensitivity of 87·0 % and a specificity of 39·4 % with optimised cut-off level.

CONCLUSIONS

The six-item tool presented adequate validity and reproducibility to identify individuals with low Ca intake among the target population, providing a convenient instrument for categorising Ca intake in clinical practice, prompting referrals for further assessment, and raising awareness of dietary Ca in bone disease prevention.

The Validity of Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake Using Plasma Vitamins A, C, and E: The SAYCARE Study

Despite that fruits and vegetables are key elements for health promotion, there are limited studies validating their intake in children. We aimed to validate the SAYCARE (South American Youth/Child Cardiovascular and Environmental) Study Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and the combination of the FFQ frequency of intake with the 24 h-dietary-recall (24 h-DR) (mean of 3 days), for children's fruit and vegetable intake. The reference methods were plasma dosages of β-carotene, retinol, ascorbic acid, and α-tocopherol, which were collected in the school environment. It is a validity study in a subsample of 45 children aged 6-10 years participating in the SAYCARE Study, from São Paulo (Brazil). The FFQ was answered by the parents/guardians over the previous 3 months; the 24 h-DR was answered three times (two weekdays by nutritionists, one weekend day by parents/guardians). The mean fruit and vegetable intake (combined with frequency of intake) was calculated using the multiple source method (MSM). Multiple linear regression showed pooled correlation coefficients of 0.29 to 0.35 for the reported fruit and vegetable intake estimated by the FFQ and the MSM, respectively. The SAYCARE FFQ is an accurate and useful tool for ranking fruit and vegetable intake in children between 6-10 years from the SAYCARE Study.