Validation of a food-frequency questionnaire for assessing vitamin intake of Japanese women in early and late pregnancy with and without nausea and vomiting

Seung Chik Jwa; Kohei Ogawa; Minatsu Kobayashi; Naho Morisaki; Haruhiko Sago; Takeo Fujiwara

doi:10.1017/jns.2016.14

Validation of a food-frequency questionnaire for assessing vitamin intake of Japanese women in early and late pregnancy with and without nausea and vomiting

J Nutr Sci. 2016 Jul 7:5:e27. doi: 10.1017/jns.2016.14. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Seung Chik Jwa¹, Kohei Ogawa¹, Minatsu Kobayashi², Naho Morisaki³, Haruhiko Sago⁴, Takeo Fujiwara⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social Medicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan; Center of Maternal-Fetal, Neonatal and Reproductive Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan.
² Department of Food Science , Otsuma Women's University , 12 Sanban-cho , Chiyoda-ku , Tokyo 102-8357 , Japan.
³ Department of Social Medicine , National Research Institute for Child Health and Development , National Center for Child Health and Development , 2-10-1 Okura , Setagaya-ku , Tokyo 157-8535 , Japan.
⁴ Center of Maternal-Fetal , Neonatal and Reproductive Medicine , National Center for Child Health and Development , 2-10-1 Okura , Setagaya-ku , Tokyo 157-8535 , Japan.
⁵ Department of Social Medicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan; Department of Global Health Promotion, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.

Abstract

Maternal vitamin intake during pregnancy is crucial for pregnancy outcomes and the child's subsequent health. However, there are few valid instruments for assessing vitamin intake that address the effects of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP). This study aimed to investigate the validity of a FFQ concerning vitamin intake during early and late pregnancy with and without NVP. The participants comprised 200 Japanese pregnant women who completed the FFQ and from whom blood samples were taken in early and late pregnancy. Energy-adjusted dietary vitamin intakes (vitamin C, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin D) from FFQ were compared with their blood concentrations. A subgroup of women with NVP was investigated. In early pregnancy, significant correlations between FFQ and biomarkers were observed for vitamin C (r 0·27), folate (r 0·18) and vitamin D (r 0·26) in women with NVP and for vitamin A (r 0·18), vitamin B12 (r 0·24) and vitamin D (r 0·23) in women without NVP. No significant correlations were observed in either group for vitamins B6 or E. In late pregnancy, similar significant associations were observed for vitamin C (r 0·27), folate (r 0·22), vitamin B6 (r 0·18), vitamin B12 (r 0·27) and vitamin A (r 0·15); coefficients were higher among women without NVP. Our study demonstrates that the FFQ is a useful tool for assessing intake of several important vitamins in early and late pregnancy regardless of NVP status.

Keywords: 25(OH)D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D; FFQ1, first FFQ between 5 and 15 weeks of gestation; FFQ2, second FFQ between 22 and 35 weeks of gestation; Food-frequency questionnaires; NCCHD, National Center for Child Health and Development; NVP (+), participants who reported their dietary intake was reduced by NVP; NVP (–), participants whose food consumption had not decreased; NVP, nausea and vomiting during pregnancy; Nausea; Pregnancy; Validation; Vitamins; Vomiting.