Validation of a Food Frequency Questionnaire

Validation of Dietary Patterns and Inflammatory Salivary Biomarkers Among Healthy Toddlers of 15-36 Months Old in Singapore

The purpose of this study is to collect nutritional information from young children aged 15-36 months to validate a newly developed food frequency questionnaire.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Nutrition
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: this study is observational, it is not an intervention

Detailed Description

The primary purpose of this study is to validate a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) against a reference method (2-day weighed food records) in a sample of young children aged 15-36 months.

In addition to dietary data, the investigators also collected information on parental demographics, toddler health with regards to allergies and intolerance, parental feeding practices, parent and child weight and height and lastly, saliva samples to study inflammatory markers.

Therefore, in addition to the validation of the FFQ- the data will also be used to study associations between dietary patterns, food and nutrient intake and (i) parental feeding practices and (ii) inflammatory biomarkers from saliva

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 95

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 year to 3 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

children who are aged 15-36 months and of Chinese, Indian or Malay ethnicity

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 15-36 months old boys and girls who are healthy
2. Toddlers who are from either Chinese, Malay or Indian ethnic group

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Toddlers with any acute or chronic illness, such as chronic inflammatory bowel disease, or illness that negatively affects food intake (e.g. Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis).
2. Toddlers with history of antibiotics used in the last 1 week before the study.
3. Toddlers with history of vaccination in the last 2 weeks before the study
4. Toddlers with one or both parents of Caucasian origin.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Validated Food Frequency Questionnaire	Ninety-one parents completed the sqFFQ and a 2-day weighed food record as the reference method. Intake of energy and nutrients (energy, carbohydrates, fat, protein, fibre, sugars, calcium and iron) were determined for each method and compared using Pearson correlations.	up to 1 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Salivary Inflammatory Biomarkers	C-reactive protein, salivary IgA, alpha amylase	up to 1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Danone Asia Pacific Holdings Pte, Ltd.
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Elena Sandalova, PhD, Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition; Study Chair: Smita Nambiar-Mann, PhD, Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Allan C, Abdul Kader UH, Ang JYY, Muhardi L, Nambiar S. Relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for Singaporean toddlers aged 15-36 months. BMC Nutr. 2018 Dec 11;4:42. doi: 10.1186/s40795-018-0252-9. eCollection 2018.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 13, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 1, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): May 3, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 14, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 3, 2020
• Last Verified: April 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: SGP. 1.A/A/3, PIEC2015/023.

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED
• IPD Plan Description: the whole data set (without traceability to the participant) may be available for other researchers for secondary analyses

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No