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Background The European study MetaCardis aims to investigate the role of the gut microbiota in health and cardiometabolic diseases in France, Germany, and Denmark. To evaluate long-term diet–disease relationships, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was found to be the most relevant dietary assessment method for the MetaCardis study. Objective The objectives of this study were to describe the development of three semiquantitative online FFQs used in the MetaCardis study—one FFQ per country—and to assess the relative validity of the French MetaCardis FFQ. Design The layout and format of the MetaCardis FFQ was based on the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk FFQ and the content was based on relevant European FFQs. Portion size and nutrient composition were derived from national food consumption surveys and food composition databases. To assess the validity of the French MetaCardis FFQ, a cross-sectional study design was utilized. Participants/setting The validation study included 324 adults recruited between September 2013 and June 2015 from different hospitals in Paris, France. Main outcome measures Food intakes were measured with both the French MetaCardis FFQ and 3 consecutive self-administered web-based 24-hour dietary recalls (DRs). Statistical analyses performed Several measures of validity of the French MetaCardis FFQ were evaluated: estimations of food groups, energy, and nutrient intakes from the DRs and the FFQ, Spearman and Pearson correlations, cross-classification, and Bland-Altman analyses. Results The French MetaCardis FFQ tended to report higher food, energy, and nutrient intakes compared with the DRs. Mean correlation coefficient was 0.429 for food, 0.460 for energy, 0.544 for macronutrients, 0.640 for alcohol, and 0.503 for micronutrient intakes. Almost half of participants (44.4%) were correctly classified within tertiles of consumption, whereas 12.9% were misclassified in the opposite tertile. Performance of the FFQ was relatively similar after stratification by sex. Conclusions The French MetaCardis FFQ was found to have an acceptable level of validity and may be a useful instrument to rank individuals based on their food and nutrient intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Aims: We tested the reproducibility and relative validity of a French self-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) against 24-hour dietary records (DRs). Methods: We selected 140 participants from the SU.VI.MAX study. They filled in the FFQ twice at 1-year intervals and completed monthly 24-hour DR during that year. The number of food items in the FFQ was 240. Results: Reproducibility was high. Medians of Pearson coefficients were 0.70 and 0.65 for nutrients in men and women, respectively. Medians of intraclass correlation coefficients for food were 0.62 in men and 0.65 in women. For nutrients, crude Pearson correlation coefficients for relative validity ranged from 0.28 to 0.67 in men and from 0.25 to 0.55 in women. The Spearman coefficient for alcohol was 0.78 in both genders. For food, the medians of the Spearman coefficient were 0.49 and 0.45 for men and women, respectively. Complete disagreement between the FFQ and 24-hour DRs for ranking subjects according to food consumption was low (about 4%), except for rarely consumed food groups, that is nuts, legumes and offal. Calibration coefficients were estimated by linear regression. All coefficients were lower than one. Conclusions: Acceptable reproducibility and relative validity were observed in a FFQ designed for French adults. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]