HD-FFQ to detect nutrient deficiencies and toxicities for a multiethnic Asian dialysis population

• Main Authors: Md Ali, Mohammad Syafiq, Zu, Wei Yeak, Khor, Ban Hock, Sahathevan, Sharmela, Sualeheen, Ayesha, Lim, Jun Hao, Adanan, Nurul Iman Hafizah, Abdul Gafor, Abdul Halim, Zakaria, Nor Fadhlina, Khosla, Pramod, Karuppiah, Thilakavathy, Mat Daud, Zulfitri 'Azuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/89153/1/FOOD.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/89153/; https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1585
• Institution: Universiti Putra Malaysia

A rapid and reliable tool appropriate to quantifying macronutrient and micronutrient intakes in diets consumed by Malaysian hemodialysis (HD) patients is lacking. We aimed to develop and validate a novel HD-food frequency questionnaire (HD-FFQ) to assess habitual nutritional intakes of HD patients with diverse ethnic backgrounds. This study was conducted in three phases. In Phase I, a HD-FFQ comprising 118 food items was developed using 3-day diet recalls (3DDR) from 388 HD patients. Phase II was the face and content validation using the Scale-Content Validity Index (S-CVI). After successfully developing the FFQ, Phase III tested relative validation against a reference method, the 3DDR. Results from Phase III showed that the mean difference for absolute intakes of nutrients assessed by HD-FFQ and 3DDR were significant (p < 0.05). However, there was a significant correlation between the HD-FFQ and reference method ranging from 0.35–0.47 (p < 0.05). Cross-quartile classification showed that <10% of patients were grossly misclassified. In conclusion, the HD-FFQ has an acceptable relative validity in assessing and ranking the dietary intake of the HD patients in Malaysia.