Xu Qian, Chu Yudan, Tian Huajun, Ma Guoqiang, Qiu Jun, Zhang Qiuping
Key Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 9;20(1):e0317370. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317370. eCollection 2025.
A convenient but efficient tool for evaluating dietary intakes in Chinese professional athletes has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of a short semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) through comparison with 3-day weighed food records (3DWFRs) and corresponding serum biomarkers from a cohort of 102 professional athletes, while also evaluating its reproducibility. The relative validity was assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients, cross-quintiles classification, weighted kappa, and Bland-Altman analysis, while reproducibility was evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between two FFQs. The results showed the median (range) crude correlation coefficients (CCs) between the first FFQ and 3DWFRs for energy and nutrients, and the food groups were 0.331 (0.219 to 0.568) and 0.292 (-0.035 to 0.455), respectively. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (EPA, DHA, and EPA+DHA) intake estimated from the FFQ significantly correlated with corresponding serum biomarkers, with CCs ranging from 0.389 to 0.520. Weighted kappa statistics, indicating acceptable consistency (> 0.2) for most items, varied from -0.076 to 0.581, except for vitamin C, vegetables, and oils. Misclassification of nutrients and food groups into extreme quartiles was rare, with a median misclassification rate of 2% (ranging from 1% to 12%) and 3% (ranging 0 to 10%), respectively. Bland-Altman analysis revealed good agreement between FFQ and 3DWFRs, with over 90% of data points falling within the limits of agreement (LOA) for all assessed nutrients and food groups. In the reproducibility analysis, the median (range) crude CC and ICC for energy and nutrients were 0.574 (0.423 to 0.643) and 0.668 (0.558 to 0.763), respectively, while for food groups, they were 0.681 (0.242 to 0.764) and 0.640 (0.371 to 0.787), respectively. In conclusion, the short FFQ demonstrated acceptable relative validity and reproducibility for most nutrients and food groups, suggesting its potential as a valuable tool for assessing dietary intake and nutrition status among young Chinese athletes.
目前尚未建立一种方便且高效的工具来评估中国职业运动员的饮食摄入量。本研究的目的是通过与102名职业运动员队列的3天称重食物记录（3DWFR）及相应血清生物标志物进行比较，评估一种简短的半定量食物频率问卷（FFQ）的有效性，同时评估其可重复性。使用Spearman相关系数、交叉五分位数分类、加权kappa和Bland-Altman分析来评估相对有效性，使用两个FFQ之间的Spearman相关系数和组内相关系数（ICC）来评估可重复性。结果显示，第一个FFQ与3DWFR在能量、营养素及食物组方面的中位数（范围）粗相关系数（CC）分别为0.331（0.219至0.568）和0.292（-0.035至0.455）。从FFQ估算的ω-3多不饱和脂肪酸（EPA、DHA和EPA+DHA）摄入量与相应血清生物标志物显著相关，CC范围为0.389至0.520。加权kappa统计显示，除维生素C、蔬菜和油类外，大多数项目的一致性可接受（>0.2），范围从-0.076至0.581。营养素和食物组被错误分类到极端四分位数的情况很少见，营养素和食物组的中位数错误分类率分别为2%（范围1%至12%）和3%（范围0至10%）。Bland-Altman分析显示FFQ与3DWFR之间具有良好的一致性，所有评估的营养素和食物组中超过90%的数据点落在一致性界限（LOA）内。在可重复性分析中，能量和营养素的中位数（范围）粗CC和ICC分别为0.574（0.423至0.643）和0.668（0.558至0.763），而食物组的分别为0.681（0.242至0.764）和0.640（0.371至0.787）。总之，简短的FFQ对大多数营养素和食物组显示出可接受的相对有效性和可重复性，表明其有潜力成为评估中国年轻运动员饮食摄入量和营养状况的有价值工具。
