Validity of Estimated Dietary Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Intakes Determined by Interviewer-Administered Food Frequency Questionnaire Among Older Adults With Mild-to-Moderate Cognitive Impairment or Dementia
Open Access
- 11 May 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in American Journal of Epidemiology
- Vol. 170 (1), 95-103
- https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwp089
Abstract
Epidemiologic research is increasingly being focused on elderly persons, many of whom exhibit mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment. This presents a challenge for collection and interpretation of self-reported dietary data. There are few reports on the impact of cognitive function and dementia on the validity of self-reported dietary intakes. Using plasma phospholipid fatty acid profiles as a biomarker of intake, the authors assessed the validity of an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to estimate intakes of 2 marine-based omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), among 273 community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years participating in the Nutrition, Aging, and Memory in Elders Study (Boston, Massachusetts, 2002–2008). Age- and energy-adjusted Pearson correlation coefficients for correlations between dietary intakes and plasma phospholipids were consistent across categories of high and low cognitive function (r = 0.48), based on Mini-Mental State Examination score, and were similar across clinically diagnosed categories of normal functioning (r = 0.49), mild cognitive impairment (r = 0.45), and dementia (r = 0.52). The FFQ ranked 78% of subjects to within 1 quartile of their plasma phospholipid EPA + DHA quartile. This frequency was consistently high across all cognitive categories. With interviewer administration, this FFQ seems to be a valid method of assessing dietary EPA + DHA intake in older adults with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment.Keywords
This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit:
- Diet and cognitive function in later life: a challenge for nutrition epidemiologyEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2009
- Validation of a food frequency questionnaire measurement of selected nutrients using biological markers in African-American menEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007
- Validation and reproducibility of a semi‐quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire for use in elderly Swiss womenJournal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 2006
- The Nutrition, Aging, and Memory in Elders (NAME) study: design and methods for a study of micronutrients and cognitive function in a homebound elderly populationInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2006
- Mild cognitive impairment – beyond controversies, towards a consensus: report of the International Working Group on Mild Cognitive ImpairmentJournal of Internal Medicine, 2004
- Reproducibility and validity of food intake measurements from a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaireJournal of the American Dietetic Association, 1993
- Retrieval from memory of dietary informationApplied Cognitive Psychology, 1991
- Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's diseaseNeurology, 1984
- “Mini-mental state”: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinicianJournal of Psychiatric Research, 1975
- Studies of Illness in the AgedPublished by American Medical Association (AMA) ,1963