LAUSR

Abstract Objective To compare the performance of the commonly used 24 h recall (24hR) with the more distinct duplicate portion (DP) as reference method for validation of fatty acid intake estimated with an FFQ. Design Intakes of SFA, MUFA, n-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid (LA) were estimated by chemical analysis of two DP and by on average five 24hR and two FFQ. Plasma n-3 fatty acids and LA were used to objectively compare ranking of individuals based on DP and 24hR. Multivariate measurement error models were used to estimate validity coefficients and attenuation factors for the FFQ with the DP and 24hR as reference methods. Setting Wageningen, the Netherlands. Subjects Ninety-two men and 106 women (aged 20–70 years). Results Validity coefficients for the fatty acid estimates by the FFQ tended to be lower when using the DP as reference method compared with the 24hR. Attenuation factors for the FFQ tended to be slightly higher based on the DP than those based on the 24hR as reference method. Furthermore, when using plasma fatty acids as reference, the DP showed comparable to slightly better ranking of participants according to their intake of n-3 fatty acids (0·33) and n-3:LA (0·34) than the 24hR (0·22 and 0·24, respectively). Conclusions The 24hR gives only slightly different results compared with the distinctive but less feasible DP, therefore use of the 24hR seems appropriate as the reference method for FFQ validation of fatty acid intake.