Self-administered structured food record for measuring individual energy and nutrient intake in large cohorts: Design and validation / Registro alimentario estructurado y autoadministrado para estimar la ingesta individual de energía y nutrientes en grandes cohortes: diseño y validación

Introduction: Several instruments developed to assess dietary intake of groups or populations have strengths and weaknesses that affect their specific application. No self-administered, closed-ended dietary survey was previously used in Argentina to assess current food and nutrient intake on a daily basis. Objective: To design and validate a self-administered, structured food record (NutriQuid, NQ) representative of the adult Argentine population's food consumption pattern to measure individual energy and nutrient intake. Materials and methods: Records were loaded onto a database using software that checks a regional nutrition information system (SARA program), automatically quantifying energy and nutrient intake. NQ validation included two phases: (1) NQ construct validity comparing records kept simultaneously by healthy volunteers (45-75 years) and a nutritionist who provided meals (reference), and (2) verification of whether NQ reflected target population consumption (calories and nutrients), week consumption differences, respondent acceptability, and ease of data entry/analysis. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, repeated measures ANOVA, intraclass correlation coefficient, nonparametric regression, and cross-classification into quintiles. Results: The first validation (study group vs. reference) showed an underestimation (10%) of carbohydrate, fat, and energy intake. Second validation: 109 volunteers (91% response) completed the NQ for seven consecutive days. Record completion took about 9min/day, and data entry 3-6min. Mean calorie intake was 2240±119kcal/day (42% carbohydrates, 17% protein, and 41% fat). Intake significantly increased in the weekend. Conclusion: NQ is a simple and efficient tool to assess dietary intake in large samples

Introducción: Diferentes instrumentos para evaluar la ingesta alimentaria grupal o poblacional tienen fortalezas y debilidades que afectan a su aplicación. No existe experiencia nacional con un registro dietético auto-administrado cerrado para evaluar la ingesta actual de alimentos y nutrientes diaria de alimentos. Objetivo: Diseñar y validar un registro de alimentos estructurado, auto-administrado (NutriQuid [NQ]), representativo del patrón de consumo alimentario de la población argentina adulta para medir la ingesta individual de energía y nutrientes. Materiales y métodos: Desarrollamos un software para incorporar registros en una base de datos y verificar información nutricional (programa SARA), cuantificando automáticamente la ingesta de energía y nutrientes. La validación de NQ incluyó 2 fases: 1) comparación simultánea de registros del NQ completado por voluntarios sanos (45-75 años) y de una nutricionista que preparó las comidas ofrecidas (referencia), y 2) verificación si el NQ reflejó el consumo diferencial de población objetivo (calorías y nutrientes) durante la semana, aceptabilidad por los encuestados y facilidad de ingreso/análisis de datos. Análisis estadístico: incluyó estadística descriptiva, ANOVA de medidas repetidas, coeficiente de correlación intraclase, regresión no paramétrica y clasificación cruzada en quintilos. Resultados: La primera validación (voluntarios vs. referencia): mostró una subestimación del 10% de la ingesta de carbohidratos, grasas y energía. Segunda validación: 109 voluntarios (91% de respuesta) completaron el NQ durante 7 días consecutivos. Completar los registros requirió 9min/día y la carga de datos 3-6min. La ingesta calórica promedio fue de 2.240±119kcal/día (42% carbohidratos, 17% proteína y 41% grasa) y aumentó significativamente durante el fin de semana. Conclusión: El NQ es una herramienta simple y eficiente para evaluar la ingesta alimentaria en grandes grupos

Self-administered structured food record for measuring individual energy and nutrient intake in large cohorts: Design and validation.

INTRODUCTION: Several instruments developed to assess dietary intake of groups or populations have strengths and weaknesses that affect their specific application. No self-administered, closed-ended dietary survey was previously used in Argentina to assess current food and nutrient intake on a daily basis. OBJECTIVE: To design and validate a self-administered, structured food record (NutriQuid, NQ) representative of the adult Argentine population's food consumption pattern to measure individual energy and nutrient intake. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Records were loaded onto a database using software that checks a regional nutrition information system (SARA program), automatically quantifying energy and nutrient intake. NQ validation included two phases: (1) NQ construct validity comparing records kept simultaneously by healthy volunteers (45-75 years) and a nutritionist who provided meals (reference), and (2) verification of whether NQ reflected target population consumption (calories and nutrients), week consumption differences, respondent acceptability, and ease of data entry/analysis. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, repeated measures ANOVA, intraclass correlation coefficient, nonparametric regression, and cross-classification into quintiles. RESULTS: The first validation (study group vs. reference) showed an underestimation (10%) of carbohydrate, fat, and energy intake. Second validation: 109 volunteers (91% response) completed the NQ for seven consecutive days. Record completion took about 9min/day, and data entry 3-6min. Mean calorie intake was 2240±119kcal/day (42% carbohydrates, 17% protein, and 41% fat). Intake significantly increased in the weekend. CONCLUSION: NQ is a simple and efficient tool to assess dietary intake in large samples.

Impact of road traffic emissions on ambient air quality in an industrialized area.

Several epidemiological studies showed a correlation between airborne particulate matter(PM) and the incidence of several diseases in exposed populations. Consequently, the European Commission reinforced the need and obligation of member-states to monitor exposure levels of PM and adopt measures to reduce this exposure. However, in order to plan appropriate actions, it is necessary to understand the main sources of air pollution and their relative contributions to the formation of the ambient aerosol. The aim of this study was to develop a methodology to assess the contribution of vehicles to the atmospheric aerosol,which may constitute a useful tool to assess the effectiveness of planned mitigation actions.This methodology is based on three main steps: (1) estimation of traffic emissions provided from the vehicles exhaust and resuspension; (2) use of the dispersion model TAPM ("The Air Pollution Model") to estimate the contribution of traffic for the atmospheric aerosol; and(3) use of geographic information system (GIS) tools to map the PM10 concentrations provided from traffic in the surroundings of a target area. The methodology was applied to an industrial area, and results showed that the highest contribution of traffic for the PM10 concentrations resulted from dust resuspension and that heavy vehicles were the type that most contributed to the PM10 concentration.