Objective: To evaluate the relative validity and reliability of the SEARCH FFQ that was modified from the Block Kids Questionnaire.
Design: Study participants completed the eighty-five-item FFQ twice plus three 24 h dietary recalls within one month. We estimated correlations between frequencies obtained from participants with the true usual intake for food groups and nutrients, using a two-part model for episodically consumed foods and measurement error adjustment.
Setting: The multi-centre SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Nutrition Ancillary Study.
Subjects: A subgroup of 172 participants aged 10-24 years with type 1 diabetes.
Results: The mean correlations, adjusted for measurement error, of food groups and nutrients between the FFQ and true usual intake were 0·41 and 0·38, respectively, with 57 % of food groups and 70 % of nutrients exhibiting correlations >0·35. Correlations were high for low-fat dairy (0·80), sugar-sweetened beverages (0·54), cholesterol (0·59) and saturated fat (0·51), while correlations were poor for high-fibre bread and cereal (0·16) and folate (0·11). Reliability of FFQ intake based on two FFQ administrations was also reasonable, with 54 % of Pearson correlation coefficients ≥0·5. Reliability was high for low-fat dairy (0·7), vegetables (0·6), carbohydrates, fibre, folate and vitamin C (all 0·5), but less than desirable for low-fat poultry and high-fibre bread, cereal, rice and pasta (0·2-0·3).
Conclusions: While there is some room for improvement, our findings suggest that the SEARCH FFQ performs quite well for the assessment of many nutrients and food groups in a sample of youth with type 1 diabetes.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; FFQ validation; Reliability; Youth.