Development and validation of a short culture-specific food frequency questionnaire for Greek pregnant women and their adherence to the Mediterranean diet

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the validity of a short, culture-specific, semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for Greek dietary habits and among a population of pregnant women, and to assess the adherence of reported nutritional habits to the Mediterranean diet.

Methods: The validity of the FFQ was assessed by comparing FFQ-derived nutrient intakes against the average of two 24-h dietary recalls of 70 pregnant women. We used appropriate statistical methods to examine the nutrient correlation and level of agreement between the two figures (Pearson or Spearman correlation and Bland-Altman test, respectively). Calculation of the Mediterranean Diet Score was performed to evaluate participants' adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Results: Statistically significant positive correlations, of medium strength, were observed for almost all macronutrient groups (ρs ranging from 0.326 to 0.538). Dietary fiber intake was the only nutrient where a weak correlation was identified (ρ = -0.106; P > 0.05). Mean intakes, derived from the FFQ, agreed with results from the 24-h recalls based on Bland-Altman analysis, with the agreement ranging between 94.3% and 98.6% for the macronutrient groups under examination. The calculation of the Mediterranean Diet Score revealed that Greek pregnant women's habits are in accordance with the principles of the Mediterranean diet.

Conclusions: The developed FFQ is a valid tool that could provide reliable nutrient intake assessment in studies monitoring dietary habits of pregnant women, a group where nutritional monitoring is essential but to date remains limited.

Keywords: Mediterranean diet; Nutrition; Pregnancy; Questionnaire; Validation.