Comparison of Interviewer-Administered and Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Recalls in 3 Diverse Integrated Health Systems

Abstract

Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls provide high-quality intake data but have been prohibitively expensive for large epidemiologic studies. This study's goal was to assess whether the web-based Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Recall (ASA24) performs similarly enough to the standard interviewer-administered, Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) 24-hour dietary recall to be considered a viable alternative. In 2010-2011, 1,081 adults from 3 integrated health systems in Detroit, Michigan; Marshfield, Wisconsin; and Kaiser-Permanente Northern California participated in a field trial. A quota design ensured a diverse sample by sex, age, and race/ethnicity. Each participant was asked to complete 2 recalls and was randomly assigned to 1 of 4 protocols differing by type of recall and administration order. For energy, the mean intakes were 2,425 versus 2,374 kcal for men and 1,876 versus 1,906 kcal for women by AMPM and ASA24, respectively. Of 20 nutrients/food groups analyzed and controlling for false discovery rate, 87% were judged equivalent at the 20% bound. ASA24 was preferred over AMPM by 70% of the respondents. Attrition was lower in the ASA24/AMPM study group than in the AMPM/ASA24 group, and it was lower in the ASA24/ASA24 group than in the AMPM/AMPM group. ASA24 offers the potential to collect high-quality dietary intake information at low cost with less attrition.

Keywords: comparative study; diet survey; experimental design; nutritional assessment; population.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Figures

Figure 1.

Preferences for the Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) versus the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Recall (ASA24): men, Food Reporting Comparison Study, 2011–2012. A) Relationship for the total sample; B) relationships by age group; C) relationships by educational level. No differences across demographic groups were significant (χ2; P < 0.05). Black bars, AMSA; hatched bars, ASA24.

Figure 2.

Preferences for the Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) versus the Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Recall (ASA24): women, Food Reporting Comparison Study, 2011–2012. A) Relationship for the total sample; B) relationships by age group; C) relationships by educational level. There was a significant difference (χ2; P < 0.05) in preferences between age groups but not educational levels. Black bars, AMSA; hatched bars, ASA24.