International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 26, 953-963, Copyright © 1997 by International Epidemiological Association
JR Wilkins 3rd and JY Bunn
BACKGROUND: Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) have been widely used in
epidemiological studies of dietary factors, despite persistent questions
about the quality of the data they generate. To address concerns about the
influence of disease status on dietary recall, we examined the temporal
consistency of dietary recall data obtained in a case-control study of
environmental factors and childhood brain tumours. METHODS: On two
occasions separated by approximately 4.5 years, the mothers of children
with brain tumours and healthy matched controls were asked about their
diets during pregnancy and their children's diets prior to diagnosis.
Forty-five case and 60 control mothers completed both FFQ for themselves
and/or their children. Daily dietary intakes of substances related to
dietary N-nitroso compounds were estimated from the responses to each of
the questionnaires and compared. The dietary intakes of the cases were also
compared to their matched controls. RESULTS: The changes in estimated
dietary intakes from the first to the second questionnaire administration
were similar in both groups of mothers, indicating negligible case-control
differences in healthy individuals recalling their own diets. Control
mothers reported for their children a higher intake of the index foods on
the second questionnaire than on the first while estimated intakes for the
case children were lower the second time compared to the first. Significant
case-control differences among the children were seen for the majority of
dietary components examined. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the
magnitude and direction of errors in dietary recall data can vary by
disease status, and further suggest that reliance on retrospective reports
of children's diets may be inappropriate in a case-control study.
ARTICLES
Comparing dietary recall data for mothers and children obtained on two occasions in a case-control study of environmental factors and childhood brain tumours
Division of Epidemiology and Biometrics, School of Public Health, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA.
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