Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jul;65 Suppl 1:S16-28. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.84.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The EPIC-Soft 24-h recall (the software developed to conduct 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study) has been used in several regional/national dietary monitoring surveys. The main objective of the study was to present and discuss design, settings, logistics, data management and quality controls of dietary monitoring surveys that used EPIC-Soft for the collection of food consumption data.
SUBJECTS/METHODS: Within European Food Consumption Validation (EFCOVAL), a questionnaire including questions on current/past EPIC-Soft experiences and requirements for the future was developed and sent to all institutes that used EPIC-Soft in their food consumption survey(s) (five surveys in four different countries).
EPIC-Soft was used in the national food consumption survey in Belgium (≥ 15-97 years), Germany (14-80 years), the Netherlands (19-30 years and 2-6 years) and Spain (regional only; 4-18 years). Participation rates in these surveys were 46% (Belgium), 42% (Germany), 42% (Dutch survey in adults), 79% (Dutch survey in children) and 77% (Basque survey). Two 24-HDRs were collected by conducting face-to-face interviews in Belgium and Spain, and through telephone interviews in Germany and the Netherlands. Except the Netherlands (19-30 years), where the study was conducted only in autumn, in all other countries the study was conducted throughout the four seasons, including all days of the week. Interviews were conducted by dietitians, except in Germany and Spain. Mean EPIC-Soft interview time was 20-34 min. The dropout rate between the first and second interviews was low (<7.5%) in all surveys.
EPIC-Soft has been used in different study settings and populations for nutritional exposure assessments. To guarantee the comparability of data across countries, recommendations for the design of future pan-European dietary monitoring surveys using EPIC-Soft should be drawn.
背景/目的：EPIC-Soft 24 小时回顾（用于在欧洲癌症与营养前瞻性调查（EPIC）中进行 24 小时膳食回顾（24-HDR）的软件）已在多个区域/国家膳食监测调查中使用。该研究的主要目的是介绍和讨论使用 EPIC-Soft 收集食物消费数据的膳食监测调查的设计、设置、后勤、数据管理和质量控制。
受试者/方法：在欧洲食品消费验证（EFCOVAL）中，开发了一份包括当前/过去 EPIC-Soft 经验和未来需求的问卷，并发送给所有在其食物消费调查中使用 EPIC-Soft 的机构（四个国家的五个调查）。
EPIC-Soft 用于比利时（≥ 15-97 岁）、德国（14-80 岁）、荷兰（19-30 岁和 2-6 岁）和西班牙（仅限地区；4-18 岁）的全国性食物消费调查。这些调查的参与率为 46%（比利时）、42%（德国）、42%（荷兰成人调查）、79%（荷兰儿童调查）和 77%（巴斯克调查）。在比利时和西班牙进行了两次面对面访谈，在德国和荷兰通过电话访谈收集了 24-HDR。除荷兰（19-30 岁）外，该研究仅在秋季进行，在所有其他国家，该研究在四个季节进行，包括一周的所有日子。访谈由营养师进行，德国和西班牙除外。平均 EPIC-Soft 访谈时间为 20-34 分钟。所有调查中，第一次和第二次访谈之间的辍学率都很低（<7.5%）。
EPIC-Soft 已在不同的研究环境和人群中用于营养暴露评估。为了保证数据在各国之间的可比性，应该为使用 EPIC-Soft 进行未来泛欧膳食监测调查的设计提出建议。
