Period: 2010 - 2012

Study carried out with 150 participants from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay to adapt and validate the Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ I), a semi-quantitative self-administered food consumption frequency questionnaire developed by the National Cancer Institute of the USA, with the aim of using it with adults in all three countries.

Researchers

N. Elorriaga, V. Irazola, M. Britz, S. Martínez Oakley, R. Suárez Eytel, L. Gibbons, L. Bazzano, G. Cormick, D. Defagó, J. He, A. Rubinstein

Summary

[See basis of food composition data]

Certain eating habits are considered risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. To evaluate the association that exists between diet and these diseases in the countries of the Southern Cone, it is necessary to have tools validated in the region.

One of the challenges of studies on chronic non-communicable diseases is quantifying food and nutrient consumption. This CESCAS research will precisely estimate the average daily intake of energy, macronutrients, saturated fatty acids, cholesterol, fiber, alcohol, fruits and vegetables of adults residing in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

This estimation will be carried out with an instrument developed and validated especially for the population of the Southern Cone: a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for adults that was adapted especially for this study (it was subjected to cross-cultural adaptation).

Validation is important to evaluate whether this questionnaire correctly measures food and nutrient consumption in the population in which it will be used because incorrect information can lead to false associations between diet-related factors and diseases or disease markers.

The validity of said questionnaire (which was adapted taking into account the dietary practices of its target population) makes it a useful instrument for monitoring and evaluating health programs aimed at improving the diet and nutritional status of the adult population in the region. . This questionnaire can also be used in research studies to explore associations between diet and disease and will increase Argentine research capacity in this area.

This research work, in Argentina, was partially financed by a Ramón Carrillo-Arturo Oñativia Scholarship granted by the Ministry of Health of the Nation through the National Health Investigative Commission.

Objectives

Adapt and validate the Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ I), a semi-quantitative self-administered food consumption frequency questionnaire developed by the National Cancer Institute of the USA, with the aim of using it with adults from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Finance NIH-NHLBI and Carrillo-Oñativia Scholarship, Ministry of Health of the Nation

Study design Observational analytical study.