Reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire: Korea Nurses' Health Study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#This study aimed to examine the reproducibility of food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) designed for young female nurses in the Korea Nurses' Health Study. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#The reproducibility of web-based, self-administered FFQs was evaluated among 243 Korean female nurses. The first FFQ (FFQ1) was administered from March 2014 to February 2019 and the second FFQ (FFQ2) from November 2019, with a mean interval of 2.8 years between the FFQs (range, 9 months–5.6 years). Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients (r values) and quartile agreements between FFQ1 and FFQ2 were calculated for intakes of energy, nutrients, and foods. @*RESULTS@#Pearson correlation coefficients ranged from 0.41 to 0.55 (median r = 0.51) for energy and raw nutrients and from 0.16 to 0.46 (median r = 0.36) for energy-adjusted nutrients. Spearman correlation coefficients ranged from 0.25 to 0.72 (median r = 0.41) for food items. The percentages of women who were classified into the same or adjacent quartile were 77% to 84% (median = 82%) for raw nutrients and 69% to 86% (median = 78%) for foods. @*CONCLUSIONS@#The results indicated that the web-based FFQ used in the Korea Nurses' Health Study has acceptable reproducibility.

The Perception of Laymen and Experts Toward Mobile Applications for Self-monitoring of Diet Based on in-depth Interviews and Focus Group Interviews / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a qualitative study to explore the feasibility of mobile applications for self-monitoring of diet. METHODS: We conducted in-depth and focus group interviews with eight laymen who had used mobile dietary applications and eight experts. Interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed using an open coding method. RESULTS: The qualitative data of our study revealed two key themes: (1) perceptions, opinions and attitudes towards mobile applications of self-monitoring of diet and (2) future directions to improve mobile applications. CONCLUSIONS: Our qualitative study suggested the potential use of mobile applications as a food-tracking and dietary monitoring tool and the need for improved mobile applications for self-monitoring of diet. The results of our study may provide insights into how to technically improve mobile applications for self-monitoring of diet, how to utilize dietary data generated through mobile applications, and how to improve individual's health though mobile applications.

The Perception of Laymen and Experts Toward Mobile Applications for Self-monitoring of Diet Based on in-depth Interviews and Focus Group Interviews / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a qualitative study to explore the feasibility of mobile applications for self-monitoring of diet. METHODS: We conducted in-depth and focus group interviews with eight laymen who had used mobile dietary applications and eight experts. Interviews were audio-recorded and analyzed using an open coding method. RESULTS: The qualitative data of our study revealed two key themes: (1) perceptions, opinions and attitudes towards mobile applications of self-monitoring of diet and (2) future directions to improve mobile applications. CONCLUSIONS: Our qualitative study suggested the potential use of mobile applications as a food-tracking and dietary monitoring tool and the need for improved mobile applications for self-monitoring of diet. The results of our study may provide insights into how to technically improve mobile applications for self-monitoring of diet, how to utilize dietary data generated through mobile applications, and how to improve individual's health though mobile applications.

Dietary Changes After Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Associations with Physical Activity, Anthropometry, and Health-related Quality of life Among Korean Breast Cancer Survivors / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine levels of physical activity, anthropometric features, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Korean breast cancer survivors who reported changes in their diet after diagnosis. METHODS: A total of 380 women who had been diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancer and had breast cancer surgery at least six months before the interview were included. Participants provided information on dietary change after diagnosis, post-diagnostic diet, physical activity, anthropometric measures, and HRQoL through face-to-face interview. We assessed HRQoL levels of breast cancer survivors using a validated Korean version of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer Module (BR23). We used the logistic regression and generalized linear models to identify the associations of dietary changes in relation with physical activity, anthropometry, and HRQoL. RESULTS: The majority of participants (72.6%) reported that they have changed their diet to a healthier diet after diagnosis. Breast cancer survivors who reported to have change to a healthy diet had higher intakes of vegetables and fruits and lower intakes of red and processed meats, and refined grains than those who did not. Also, survivors with a healthy change in their diet were more likely to engage in physical activity (top vs. bottom tertile: odds ratio [OR], 1.85; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.02-3.36) and have lower body mass index (BMI) (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.98 for one kg/m² increment in BMI) compared to those who did not. We found that a healthy change in diet was associated with higher scores of physical functioning (p=0.02) and lower scores of constipation (p=0.04) and diarrhea (p=0.006) compared to those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy changes in diet after breast cancer diagnosis may be associated with lower levels of BMI, and higher levels of physical activity and HRQoL.

The Association between the Adherence to Dietary Guidelines for Breast Cancer Survivors and Health-related Quality of Life among Korean Breast Cancer Survivors / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: We examined the association between the adherence to dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors and health-related quality of life in a cross-sectional study of Korean breast cancer survivors. METHODS: A total of 157 women aged 21 to 79 years who had been diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancers according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and had breast cancer surgery at least 6 months before the baseline were included. We used a Korean version of the Core 30 (C30) and Breast cancer 23 (BR23) module of the European Organization for Research and Treatment Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ), both of which have been validated for Koreans. Participants were asked about their adherence to dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors, suggested by the Korean breast cancer society, using a 5-point Likert scale. We summed dietary guideline adherence scores for each participant and calculated the least squares means of health-related quality of life according to dietary guideline adherence scores using the generalized linear model. RESULTS: Breast cancer survivors who had higher adherence to dietary guidelines for breast cancer survivors had lower constipation scores than those with lower adherence (p for trend=0.01). When we stratified by the stage at diagnosis, this association was limited to those who had been diagnosed with stage II or III breast cancers. Also, sexual functioning scores increased significantly with increasing adherence scores of dietary guidelines among those with stage II or III breast cancers (p for trend < 0.001). However, among those who had been diagnosed with stage I, higher scores of dietary guidelines were associated with higher scores of pain (p for trend=0.03) and breast symptoms (p for trend=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggested that the health-related quality of life levels of breast cancer survivors are associated with the adherence to dietary guidelines and may differ by the stage of the breast cancer.