Abstract

This study examined the reproducibility of nutrient intakes estimated by the 24-hour recall method in a prospective cohort study (Longitudinal study of aging and health monitoring of Korean elderly) of middle-aged volunteer subjects (42 males and 49 females) in the Seoul area. The three-day 24-hour recall was administered twice at an interval of approximately 6 months. The first data were collected and a corrective procedure was performed by interviewing of the subjects and a trained dietitian. The second data were collected by mail from the subjects without the performance of any corrective procedure. The mean age of the subjects was 53.5+/-9.6 for the males and 52.2+/-8.9 for the females. The subjects who had above college education were 95% in the case of the males and 60% in the case of the females. The characteristics of the male subjects in this study were that they were highly educated and held professional jobs and were from the middle or upper class. Comparing the first and second 24-hour recall data, the second data showed relatively lower intakes of all nutrients, except vitamin A, vitamin Bi and cholesterol. There was no difference in the nutrients of the first and the second data with respect to vitamin A, vitamin B1 and cholesterol in the males and calcium, iron, sodium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and cholesterol in the females. This data may indicate that the 24 hour retail method without a dietitian's help may result in lower reporting of the subject's intakes. The men had a tendency to remember less than the women. Pearson's correlation coefficients with unadjusted nutrient intakes values were ranged from 0.24 to 0.66. When energy intake was adjusted, there was a slight increase (from 0.26 to 0.71). Intra-class correlation coefficients with nutrient-unadjusted values ranged from 0.22 to 0.66, and the energy-adjusted values were ranged from 0.23 to 0.69. The weighted Kappa statistical values ranged from 0.10 to 0.40. On the average,46.3% of the subjects who were found in the lowest quartile of the nutrient intake levels based on the first 24-hour recall, were in the lowest quartile based on the second 24-hour recall. Therefore, there was a low reproducibility between the first and the second 24-hour recall. We should examine the factors influencing low reproducibility. Also, strategies should be developed to maximize the reliability of the assessment, with regard to portion-size training and telephone validation.

• Keywords: reproducibility; self-reported; 24-hour dietary recall; middle-aged