Reliability and Validity of Short Food Frequency Questionnaire Among Pregnant Females

Abstract

Background: The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a standard tool to assess long-term dietary intake. Development, reliability and validity of short FFQ depend on the study objective and population characteristics. However assessment of nutritional status of pregnant females is very important. Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the reliability and validity of a short food frequency questionnaire among pregnant females in the Qazvin, Iran. Patients and Methods: A total of 553 pregnant females, aged 18 - 40 years, during the third trimester of pregnancy, were included in the study. Statistical analysis of Pearson correlation coecient, analysis of covariance for logistic regression and factor analysis were performed using SPSS software version 23. Results: In this study, Pearson correlation coecients between test and retest for foods was r = 0.845. The Kaiser-Meyer-Oilskin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.584, P values for the Bartlett test of sphericity were all less than 0.001. Conclusions: The SFFQ has adequate reproducibility and validity for Iranian pregnant females.