Evaluation of relative intake of fatty acids according to the Northern Sweden FFQ with fatty acid levels in erythrocyte membranes as biomarkers

• Published in: Public Health Nutrition
• Main Authors: Wennberg, Maria, Vessby, Bengt, Johansson, Ingegerd
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2009
• Subjects: Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1368980008004503; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1368980008004503

Abstract Objective To evaluate the validity of the Northern Sweden eighty-four-item FFQ to estimate intake of fatty acids relative to 24 h diet recalls (24-HDR) and fatty acids in erythrocyte membranes. Design Participants, randomly recruited from the population-based Västerbotten Intervention Project, answered the eighty-four-item FFQ. During the following year each participant carried out ten 24-HDR. Intake of fatty acids measured by the FFQ was compared with intake by the 24-HDR and fatty acid levels in erythrocytes. Setting The county of Västerbotten in northern Sweden. Subjects Ninety-six men and ninety-nine women. Results Spearman correlation coefficients ( r s ) between intakes of the fatty acids 14 : 0, 15 : 0, 16 : 0, 17 : 0, 18 : 2 n -6, 18 : 3 n -3, 20 : 5 n -3 and 22 : 6 n -3 estimated by the FFQ and the 24-HDR were all significant and ranged from 0·29 (22 : 6 n -3 in men and women) to 0·60 (16 : 0 in men), whereas significant correlations between FFQ-estimated intake and erythrocyte membrane content were only seen for milk fatty acids 14 : 0, 15 : 0 and 17 : 0 ( r s = 0·23–0·34) and fish fatty acids 20 : 5 n -3 and 22 : 6 n -3 ( r s = 0·42–0·51). Conclusion The Northern Sweden eighty-four-item FFQ gives a satisfactory estimate of the intake of fish fatty acids (20 : 5 n -3 and 22 : 6 n -3) and milk fatty acids (15 : 0 and 17 : 0), whereas its validity for fatty acids 18 : 2 n -6 and 18 : 3 n -3, derived mainly from vegetable oils, cannot be shown.