Development and validation of food frequency questionnaire screener software for sodium intake among palestinian population.

BACKGROUND: High sodium intake has been linked to negative health effects, including cardiovascular and renal diseases. Traditional dietary sodium assessment methods are time-consuming and subjected to errors. Using technology may increase the efficiency and accuracy of dietary assessment. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) screener using software to assess sodium intake among the Palestinian population. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted in four phases. In Phase 1, Palestinian foods were categorized and subcategorized according to their mode of consumption, sodium content, and food groups. The sodium content values were calculated from Palestinian food composition database. Content validity was done in Phase 2, while in Phase 3, a pilot study was conducted to determine test-retest reliability. In Phase 4, the criterion validity of the screener was assessed by comparing the results of sodium intake from the FFQ screener with the results from a 24-hour urinary sodium test and a 3-day diet recall. Correlations between the sodium intake values from the three methods were analyzed using Pearson correlation tests, and the difference was assessed using the Bland-Altman test. RESULTS: The developed FFQ screener sodium screener included 41 food items categorized into nine groups, with photo-based portion size estimation and frequency of consumption. The reliability test showed a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.7, p < 0.01 using test and retest. For criterion validity, the correlation coefficient between dietary sodium intake using the FFQ screener software and the 24-hour urine sodium test was (0.6, p < 0.000). The correlation coefficient between dietary sodium intake using the FFQ screener software and dietary sodium intake using a 3-day recall was (0.3, p < 0.000). Sodium intake was significantly correlated with preferences for low-sodium food and previous salt reduction, p < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Using the FFQ screener software was a valid and reliable method for assessing dietary sodium intake. Using the photo-based method to estimate portion size improved precision and accuracy in diet assessment.

The amyloid beta 42/38 ratio as a plasma biomarker of early memory deficits in cognitively unimpaired older adults.

The amyloid beta (Aß) 42/40 ratio has been widely studied as a biomarker in Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, other Aß peptides could also represent relevant biomarkers. We measured levels of Aß38/40/42 in plasma samples from cognitively-unimpaired older adults and determined the relationships between Aß levels and amyloid positron-emission-tomography (PET) and performance on a learning and memory task. We found that all Aß peptides individually and the Aß42/40 ratio, but not the Aß42/38 ratio, were significantly correlated with brain amyloid (Aß-PET). Multiple linear modeling, adjusting for age, sex, education, APOE4 and Aß-PET showed significant associations between the Aß42/38 ratio and memory. Further, associations between the Aß42/38 ratio and learning scores were stronger in males and in Aß-PET-negative individuals. In contrast, no significant associations were detected between the Aß42/40 ratio and any learning measure. These studies implicate the Aß42/38 ratio as a biomarker to assess early memory deficits and underscore the utility of the Aß38 fragment as an important biomarker in the AD field.

Effects of Word Presentation During Treadmill Walking on Episodic Memory and Gait.

Entrainment emerges when oscillatory movements synchronize with environmental stimuli processing. The purpose of this experiment was to assess how cognitive-motor entrainment during a dual-task would influence the quality of gait and affect episodic long-term memory. Twenty-one participants (22.56 y/o; 64% F) walked at preferred paces while listening to 40-item word lists. In separate sessions, unique word lists were presented predictably on every fourth stride, unpredictably related to stepping, or predictably while standing. Memory tests administered 24-hr after encoding revealed that predictable word presentation led to better free-recall performance than unpredicted (p = .044); recognition memory was not impacted. Gait phase parameters during the predicted condition were more stable than the unpredicted condition or baseline assessments. Cognitive-motor entrainment may alleviate dual-task costs and enhance memory retention.

Digital Clock and Recall: a digital, process-driven evolution of the Mini-Cog.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) represent a substantial global public health challenge with multifaceted impacts on individuals, families, and healthcare systems. Brief cognitive screening tools such as the Mini-Cog© can help improve recognition of ADRD in clinical practice, but widespread adoption continues to lag. We compared the Digital Clock and Recall (DCR), a next-generation process-driven adaptation of the Mini-Cog, with the original paper-and-pencil version in a well-characterized clinical trial sample. Methods: DCR was administered to 828 participants in the Bio-Hermes-001 clinical trial (age median ± SD = 72 ± 6.7, IQR = 11; 58% female) independently classified as cognitively unimpaired (n = 364) or as having mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 274) or dementia likely due to AD (DLAD, n = 190). MCI and DLAD cohorts were combined into a single impaired group for analysis. Two experienced neuropsychologists rated verbal recall accuracy and digitally drawn clocks using the original Mini-Cog scoring rules. Inter-rater reliability of Mini-Cog scores was computed for a subset of the data (n = 508) and concordance between Mini-Cog rule-based and DCR scoring was calculated. Results: Inter-rater reliability of Mini-Cog scoring was good to excellent, but Rater 2's scores were significantly higher than Rater 1's due to variation in clock scores (p < 0.0001). Mini-Cog and DCR scores were significantly correlated (τ B = 0.71, p < 0.0001). However, using a Mini-Cog cut score of 4, the DCR identified more cases of cognitive impairment (n = 47; χ 2 = 13.26, p < 0.0005) and Mini-Cog missed significantly more cases of cognitive impairment (n = 87). In addition, the DCR correctly classified significantly more cognitively impaired cases missed by the Mini-Cog (n = 44) than vice versa (n = 4; χ 2 = 21.69, p < 0.0001). Discussion: Our findings demonstrate higher sensitivity of the DCR, an automated, process-driven, and process-based digital adaptation of the Mini-Cog. Digital metrics capture clock drawing dynamics and increase detection of diagnosed cognitive impairment in a clinical trial cohort of older individuals.

Hippocampal storage and recall of neocortical "What"-"Where" representations.

A key question for understanding the function of the hippocampus in memory is how information is recalled from the hippocampus to the neocortex. This was investigated in a neuronal network model of the hippocampal system in which "What" and "Where" neuronal firing rate vectors were applied to separate neocortical modules, which then activated entorhinal cortex "What" and "Where" modules, then the dentate gyrus, then CA3, then CA1, then the entorhinal cortex, and then the backprojections to the neocortex. A rate model showed that the whole system could be trained to recall "Where" in the neocortex from "What" applied as a retrieval cue to the neocortex, and could in principle be trained up towards the theoretical capacity determined largely by the number of synapses onto any one neuron divided by the sparseness of the representation. The trained synaptic weights were then imported into an integrate-and-fire simulation of the same architecture, which showed that the time from presenting a retrieval cue to a neocortex module to recall the whole memory in the neocortex is approximately 100 ms. This is sufficiently fast for the backprojection synapses to be trained onto the still active neocortical neurons during storage of the episodic memory, and this is needed for recall to operate correctly to the neocortex. These simulations also showed that the long loop neocortex-hippocampus-neocortex that operates continuously in time may contribute to complete recall in the neocortex; but that this positive feedback long loop makes the whole dynamical system inherently liable to a pathological increase in neuronal activity. Important factors that contributed to stability included increased inhibition in CA3 and CA1 to keep the firing rates low; and temporal adaptation of the neuronal firing and of active synapses, which are proposed to make an important contribution to stabilizing runaway excitation in cortical circuits in the brain.

Remembering conversation in group settings.

Individuals can take on various roles in conversation. Some roles are more active, with the participant responsible for guiding that conversation in pursuit of the group's goals. Other roles are more passive, like when one is an overhearer. Classic accounts posit that overhearers do not form conversational common ground because they do not actively participate in the communication process. Indeed, empirical findings demonstrate that overhearers do not comprehend conversation as well as active participants. Little is known, however, about long-term memory for conversations in overhearers. Overhearers play an important role in legal settings and dispute resolution, and it is critical to understand how their memory differs in quality and content from active participants in conversation. Here we examine - for the first time - the impact of one's conversational role as a speaker, addressee, or overhearer on subsequent memory for conversation. Data from 60 participants recalling 60 conversations reveal that after a brief delay, overhearers recall significantly less content from conversation compared to both speakers and addressees, and that the content they do recall is less accurately sourced to its actual contributor. Mnemonic similarity is higher between active conversational participants than between active participants and overhearers. These findings provide key support for the hypothesis that the process of forming common ground in interactive conversation shapes and supports memory for that conversation.

Word learning by children with developmental language disorder: Identifying gaps in our understanding of spaced retrieval effects.

Background and aims: Current evidence shows that children with developmental language disorder (DLD) benefit from spaced retrieval during word learning activities. Word recall is quite good relative to recall with alternative word learning procedures. However, recall on an absolute basis can be improved further; many studies report that fewer than two-thirds of the words are learned, even with the assistance of spaced retrieval during the learning activities. In this article we identify details of spaced retrieval that are less well understood in an effort to promote more effective learning through retrieval practice. Main contribution: We discuss the importance of factors such as: (a) integrating immediate retrieval with spaced retrieval trials; (b) determining whether gradual increases in spacing have more than short-term benefits relative to equal spacing; (c) discovering the number of successful retrievals sufficient to ensure later recall; (d) using spaced retrieval to avoid erosion of phonetic details on later recall tests; and (e) whether the well-documented difficulties with learning word forms might be tied to a particular subgroup of children with DLD. We also speculate on some of the possible reasons why spaced retrieval is beneficial in the first place. Conclusions: Although many children with DLD make gains in word learning through procedures that incorporate spaced retrieval, there are numerous details involved in the process that can alter its success. Until we have a better understanding of the boundaries of spaced retrieval's effectiveness, we will not be taking full advantage of this promising addition to word learning procedures. Implications: Spaced retrieval activities can be an important addition to the resources that clinicians and educators have available to assist children in their word learning. With a deeper understanding of the issues discussed here, we should be able to put spaced retrieval to even greater use.

EXPRESS: The Working Memory Model and the relationship between immediate serial recall and immediate free recall.

The effects of speech-based variables on the immediate serial recall (ISR) task constitute fundamental evidence underpinning the concept of the Phonological Loop component of Working Memory. Somewhat surprisingly, the Phonological Loop has yet to be applied to the immediate free recall (IFR) task even though both tasks share similar memoranda and presentation methods. We believe that the separation of theories of ISR and IFR has contributed to the historical divergence between the Working Memory and Episodic Memory literatures. We review more recent evidence showing that the two tasks are approached by participants in similar ways, with similar encoding and rehearsal strategies, and are similarly affected by manipulations of word length, phonological similarity, articulatory suppression/concurrent articulation, and irrelevant speech/sound. We present new analyses showing that the outputs of the two tasks share similar runs of successive items that include the first and last items- which we term start- and end-sequences, respectively - that the remaining residual items exhibit strong recency effects, and that start- and end-sequences impose constraints on output order that help account for error transposition gradients in ISR. Such analyses suggest that similar mechanisms might convey serial order information in the two tasks. We believe that recency effects are often under-appreciated in theories of ISR, and IFR mechanisms could generate error transpositions. We hope that our review and new analyses encourage greater theoretical integration between ISR and IFR, and between the Working Memory and Episodic Memory literatures.

EXPRESS: Navigating the Mind's Eye: Understanding Gaze Shifts in Visuospatial Bootstrapping.

Visuo-spatial bootstrapping refers to the well-replicated phenomena in which serial recall in a purely verbal task is boosted by presenting digits within the familiar spatial layout of a typical telephone keypad. The visuo-spatial bootstrapping phenomena indicates that additional support comes from long-term knowledge of a fixed spatial pattern, and prior experimentation supports the idea that access to this benefit depends on the availability of the visuo-spatial motor system (e.g., Allen et al., 2015). We investigate this by tracking participants' eye movements during encoding and retention of verbal lists to learn whether gaze patterns support verbal memory differently when verbal information is presented in the familiar visual layout. Participants' gaze was recorded during attempts to recall lists of seven digits in three formats: centre of the screen, typical telephone keypad, or a spatially identical layout with randomized number placement. Performance was better with the typical than with the novel layout. Our data show that eye movements differ when encoding and retaining verbal information that has a familiar layout compared with the same verbal information presented in a novel layout, suggesting recruitment of different spatial rehearsal strategies. However, no clear link between gaze pattern and recall accuracy was observed, which suggests that gazes play a limited role in retention, at best.

The influence of working memory mechanisms on false memories in immediate and delayed tests.

There is growing evidence that false memories can occur in working memory (WM) tasks with only a few semantically related words and seconds between study and test. Abadie and Camos (2019) proposed a new model to explain the formation of false memories by describing the role of articulatory rehearsal and attentional refreshing, the two main mechanisms for actively maintaining information in WM. However, this model has only been tested in recognition tasks. In the present study, we report four experiments testing the model in recall tasks in which the active maintenance of information in WM plays a more important role for retrieval. Short lists of semantically related items were held for a short retention interval filled with a concurrent task that either impaired or not the use of each of the WM maintenance mechanisms. Participants were asked to recall the items immediately after the concurrent task (immediate test) or later, at the end of a block of several trials (delayed test). In the immediate test, semantic errors were more frequent when WM maintenance was impaired. Specifically, rehearsal prevented the occurrence of semantic errors in the immediate test, while refreshing had no effect on their occurrence in this test, but increased semantic errors produced only in the delayed test. These results support Abadie and Camos (2019) model and go further by demonstrating the role of active information maintenance in WM in the emergence of false memories. The implications of these findings for understanding WM-LTM relationships are discussed.

Diagnostic accuracy of digital breast tomosynthesis and digital mammography in women with dense or non-dense breast tissue: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite its excellent screening effectiveness and sensitivity for breast cancer (BC), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is controversial due to its high radiation exposure and long reading time. This study examines the diagnostic accuracy of DBT and digital mammography (DM) for BC screening and diagnosis in women with dense or non-dense breast tissue. MATERIAL AND METHODS: PRISMA-compliant searches were performed on Medline, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane databases for articles comparing DBT and DM for BC screening until March 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan sofware, and the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool was employed to assess study quality. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included 11 trials with a total of 2,124,018 individuals. Screening with DBT resulted in a greater cancer detection rate, as demonstrated by a risk ratio (RR) of 1.27 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.14-1.41). Digital breast tomosynthesis also had a reduced recall rate, with a RR of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.78-0.99), higher sensitivity and specificity values (pooled sensitivity of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.59-0.99)) and pooled specificity of 0.90 (95% CI: 0.42-1.0)) than DM (pooled sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.52-1.0) and pooled specificity of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.12-1.0)). All acquired data exhibited reliability, lack of bias and statistical significance (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Digital breast tomosynthesis is a more effective screening and diagnostic assessment tool for women with dense or non-dense breasts than DM in terms of incremental cancer detection, sensitivity and recall rate.

Scoring story recall for individual differences research: Central details, peripheral details, and automated scoring.

Story recall is an episodic memory paradigm that is popular among researchers interested in the effects of aging, disease, and/or injury on memory functioning; it is less popular among individual-differences researchers studying neurotypical young adults. One reason differential psychologists may favor other episodic memory paradigms is that the prospect of scoring story recall is daunting, as it typically requires manually scoring hundreds or thousands of freely recalled narratives. In this study, I investigated two questions related to scoring story recall for individual differences research. First, whether there is anything to gain by scoring story recall for memory of central and peripheral details or if a single score is sufficient. Second, I investigated whether scoring can be automated using computational methods - namely, BERTScore and GPT-4. A total of 235 individuals participated in this study. At the latent variable level, central and peripheral factors were highly correlated (r = .99), and the two factors correlated with external factors (viz., fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and working memory capacity) similarly. Regarding automated scoring, both BERTScore and GPT-4 derived scores were strongly correlated with manually derived scores (r ≥ .97); additionally, factors estimated from the various scoring methods all showed a similar pattern of correlations with the external factors. Thus, differential psychologists may be able to streamline scoring by disregarding detail type and by using automated approaches. Further research is needed, particularly of the automated approaches, as both BERTScore and GPT-4 derived scores were occasionally leptokurtic while manual scores were not.

Standardizing Dietary Recall: A Necessity for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.

This report explores the 24-hour dietary recall (24HDR) form used for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Dietary supplement use, amount of money spent on food, time being physically active, portion size consumed, foods reported by meals, and preparation of the meal were common components collected among 61 EFNEP programs. Components not included were instructions for the peer educator, use of food models/measuring cups, examples of foods/beverages, time food/beverages were consumed, color coding, and a prompt to review what was written. A standardized 24-hour dietary recall form with training protocols is recommended to uphold the integrity of data collection.

Disaggregation of Dairy in Composite Foods in the United Kingdom.

Dairy, especially cheese, is associated with high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Accurate estimates of dairy consumption are therefore important for monitoring dietary transition targets. Previous studies found that disaggregating the meat out of composite foods significantly impacts estimates of meat consumption. Our objective was to determine whether disaggregating the dairy out of composite foods impacts estimates of dairy consumption in Scotland. Approximately 32% of foods in the UK Nutrient Databank contain some dairy. In the 2021 Scottish Health Survey, mean daily intakes of dairy with and without disaggregation of composite foods were 238.6 and 218.4 g, respectively. This translates into an 8% underestimation of dairy consumption when not accounting for dairy in composite foods. In particular, milk was underestimated by 7% and cheese and butter by 50%, whereas yogurt was overestimated by 15% and cream by 79%. Failing to disaggregate dairy from composite foods may underestimate dairy consumption.

[Comparison study of food, energy and nutrient intake by 24-hour dietary recall method on two consecutive days versus three consecutive days].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences in estimated food, energy, and nutrient intakes between the consecutive 3 days 24-hour dietary recall(24HR)(referred to as the 3-day method) and consecutive 2 days 24HR(referred to as the 2-day method) to provide a basis for the use of consecutive 2 days 24HR in China nutrition surveillance. METHODS: Using objective sampling to select participants in northern and southern provinces, dietary data were obtained through consecutive 3 days 24HR, and the average intakes of food, energy and nutrients were calculated for three days from Thursday to Saturday and two days on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The 3-day method was considered as the reference standard method to evaluate the performance of the 2-day method for estimating food, energy and nutrient intakes. RESULTS: Among 778 participants aged 18-60 years in urban and rural areas of two provinces, the errors of the mean and median of 2-day method for estimating the intake of four major food categories less than 6% compared with the 3-day method, and there were significant equivalencies(P<0.025) and no significant differences in four major food categories group(P>0.05). Of the 24 food groups estimated by the 2-day method, 17 had mean errors within 5%, the largest error was in animal offal(13.45%) and the smallest in fruit(0.15%), and there were significant equivalencies(P<0.025) and no significant differences in seven food groups(P>0.05). For energy and nutrients, the mean and median errors of energy were less than 0.5% and there were significant equivalencies(P<0.025) and no significant differences for energy(P>0.05). Among the 25 nutrients, except sodium, iodine and vitamin E, the mean and median errors of the other 22 nutrients were less than 5%, and there were significant equivalencies(P<0.025) and no significant differences in 16 nutrients(P>0.05). CONCLUSION: There was little difference between the two survey method in assessing the intake of high consumption frequency foods, energy and most nutrients at group level, the 2-day method can be used as an alternative to the 3-day method to collect dietary intake data with high consumption rates in the population.

An Exploratory Study of Alternative Time Frames and Descriptors for EQ-5D-5L in Obstructive Airway Diseases Using Mixed Methods.

OBJECTIVES: EQ-5D-5L with its recall time of "today" may limit its ability to capture episodic symptoms and exacerbations in chronic obstructive airway diseases (OAD). We examined whether longer time frames and changing the intensity response scales to frequency scales could improve the measurement properties of EQ-5D-5L. METHODS: We used a mixed-method design starting with in-depth interviews with 20 patients and clinicians to elicit preferred time frames using concept elicitation techniques and content analyses. We then administered the top 4 preferred variants using 1- and 4-weeks' time frames with the original intensity or an alternative frequency response scale alongside EQ-5D-5L and St George Respiratory Questionnaire to OAD patients during 2 different visits. We compared the ceiling effects and construct validity by testing a priori hypotheses in relation to St George Respiratory Questionnaire and clinical outcomes via correlation and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, respectively. Follow-up patients were categorized into "better," "stable," and "worse" groups to assess reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) or Cohen's Kappa (k) and responsiveness using ROC analysis. RESULTS: A total of 184 patients (mean [SD] age: 54[18]; female: 37.0%) completed baseline assessments. A total of 120 patients also completed follow-up assessments (mean [SD] interval: 2.8 [1.7] months). The ceilings were lower in the variants compared with EQ-5D-5L (P < .001). Reliability of the variants were comparable to or higher than EQ-5D-5L. The c-statistic values derived from ROC analyses of the variants were consistently higher than EQ-5D-5L. CONCLUSIONS: Use of longer time frames with the original intensity or the frequency response scales may improve EQ-5D-5L's psychometric properties in OAD patients.

Emotional salience modulates the forward-flow of memory.

As we navigate our day-to-day lives, we regularly adapt our behaviour according to what we predict may happen next in a given context. When an unexpected event occurs, our predictions about the world are disrupted and must be updated. Unexpected, isolated events, particularly with high emotionality, are also better recalled. In the present work, we investigated how oddballs affect recall dynamics. Seventy young, healthy participants encoded word lists containing either emotional or perceptual oddballs at varying stimulus onset asynchronies followed by free recall. It is well established that after recalling an item, we have a higher probability of recalling items encoded nearby, particularly those that were encoded after the item was recalled, a phenomenon known as forward contiguity of recall. We tested how novelty (oddballs versus control words) modulated forward contiguity as a function of salience type (emotional versus perceptual). The present results provide empirical evidence of forward contiguity modulation selectively by emotional salience and suggest that recall patterns after presenting emotional and perceptual oddballs are mediated by different mechanisms.

Bebtelovimab-bound SARS-CoV-2 RBD mutants: resistance profiling and validation with escape mutations, clinical results, and viral genome sequences.

The dynamic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants necessitates ongoing advancements in therapeutic strategies. Despite the promise of monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies like bebtelovimab, concerns persist regarding resistance mutations, particularly single-to-multipoint mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Our study addresses this by employing interface-guided computational protein design to predict potential bebtelovimab-resistance mutations. Through extensive physicochemical analysis, mutational preferences, precision-recall metrics, protein-protein docking, and energetic analyses, combined with all-atom, and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we elucidated the structural-dynamics-binding features of the bebtelovimab-RBD complexes. Identification of susceptible RBD residues under positive selection pressure, coupled with validation against bebtelovimab-escape mutations, clinically reported resistance mutations, and viral genomic sequences enhances the translational significance of our findings and contributes to a better understanding of the resistance mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2.

Japanese Diet Indices and Nutrient Density in US Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis with NHANES Data.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that Japanese dietary patterns are associated with high nutrient density. However, these studies were limited to the Japanese population. We examined this association in the US population. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2018. We included 3138 people aged 20-79 years. Food and nutrient intake data were based on the 24 h recall method. Three Japanese diet indices were used: (1) Japanese Diet Index (JDI, based on 9 food items), (2) modified JDI (mJDI, based on 12 food items), and (3) weighted JDI (wJDI, selected and weighted from mJDI food items). The nutrient density (ND) score was calculated based on the Nutrient-Rich Food Index 9.3. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated. RESULTS: The correlation coefficients with the ND score were 0.24 (p < 0.001) for the JDI and 0.38 (p < 0.001) for the mJDI. The correlation coefficient between the wJDI and ND score was 0.48 (p < 0.001). The three Japanese diet indices were correlated with the ND score in all racial groups (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Even among the US population, higher degrees of Japanese diet defined by the JDI or mJDI were associated with higher nutrient density.

Development and Evaluation of the Reliability of a Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire to Assess the Intake in the Serbian Population.

Assessing dietary habits with validated questionnaires is crucial for achieving reliable results in health research. The aim of this study was the development and validation of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in an 18-30-year-old Serbian population. A total of 93 participants completed the FFQ and three 24 h dietary recalls (24 hR). Pearson and intraclass correlations between FFQ and 24 hR intakes were assessed and were de-attenuated and energy-adjusted. Bland-Altman plots were generated, and quintiles of energy, water, fiber, and macronutrient intake were analyzed with contingency tables. Adjustments for sex differences were included. The validity of the FFQ varied, with significant correlations for energy, carbohydrates, cholesterol, and vitamin B12, vitamin C and vitamin D. Misclassification rates were generally low. Bland-Altman plots indicated good agreement between methods. It can be concluded that the validated FFQ is a promising tool for dietary assessment in the Serbian population. Results for several nutrients align closely with previous studies. The new FFQ is a useful tool for dietary assessment in the Serbian population.