Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo


School of Public health, the University of Tokyo


Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, the University of Tokyo


Medical Library, the University of Tokyo


the University of Tokyo

Dietary assessment method developed in Department of Social and Preventive Epidemiology at the University of Tokyo and mainly used for research


*Self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ)

  To target for Japanese population living in Japan and to quantitatively assess dietary habits (nutrient intake and food intake) during the preceding month, Sasaki et al has developed a self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ). DHQ is a so-called questionnaire of diet record method which includes mainly a food frequency questionnaire and questions for dietary behaviors. DHQ is a 16-page structured questionnaire (the latest version is a 22 pages) consisting of more than 400 questions, and dietary intake derived from 149 foods and over 30 nutrients is calculated. Estimates of dietary intake are calculated using an ad hoc computer algorithm for the DHQ.
  A result of the DHQ obtained from an individual can be printed out and used for explanation or/and for dietary counseling. In addition, in case of a large population (many people), database for the population comprised of individual data is produced and can be used for studies of various purposes and statistical analyses.
  DHQ has been tested for validation by several methods, and its validation is almost equal or a little higher in comparison to similar dietary questionnaires developed in Japan or in other countries (1-7). DHQ is one of the scarce methods for dietary assessment whose reliability (strength and limitation) has been evidenced, and DHQ is used in several studies conducted in Japan.

*Examples of the DHQ (in Japanese)
1. First page of the questionnaire
2. Individual feedback (a part of basic results for healthy person)
3. Individual feedback (a part of hypercholesterolaemic person)


*Brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ)
  BDHQ has been developed as a simple version of DHQ, targeted for Japanese adults. BDHQ assesses amount of nutrients habitually consumed from foods usually eaten (exclude intake from dietary supplements) as a unit of individual, in relatively easy way. BDHQ is designed to obtain each individual’s information of nutrient intake, food intake, as well as information of few markers of dietary behaviors. BDHQ is a 2-pages (A3 size) or 4-pages (A4 size), consisting of 102 questions. While having characteristics of DHQ, the structure of BDHQ as well as response style to each question and data process have been made simpler than DHQ. BDHQ has been developed to aim for uses in large-scale epidemiologic research, research with topics other than nutrition, and relatively easy-leveled nutrition education and dietary counseling targeted for a large number of people.
  In similar to DHQ, a result of the DHQ obtained from an individual can be printed out and used for explanation or/and for dietary counseling. In addition, in case of a large population (many people), database for the population comprised of individual data is produced and can be used for studies of various purposes and statistical analyses.
Original papers about validation of BDHQ have yet existed, and its validation has reported only through research report so far (8). In addition, BDHQ was used in a study (9), and the structure of the BDHQ and its validation was written in a published paper.
  Moreover, BDHQ for 3-year olds, elementary school upper-graders, adolescents (students in middle schools and high schools), and elderly has been in development.

*Examples of the BDHQ (in Japanese)
1. First and second page of the questionnaire
2. Individual feedback (a part of basic results for healthy person)
3. Individual feedback (a part of Food Balance Guide)
4. Individual feedback (a part of hypercholesterolaemic person)
5. Individual feedback (a part of table for individual data)
6. Data file of calculated nutrient intakes

*The validity of DHQ and BDHQ
  The validity of DHQ and BDHQ was examined as follows;
 Food intake→Public Health Nutr. 2011 14:1200-11. (in Japanese)
 Nutrient intake→J Epidemiol. 2012 22:151-9. (in Japanese)



References
1. Sasaki S, Yanagibori R, Amano K. Self-administered diet history questionnaire developed for health education: a relative validation of the test-version by comparison with 3-day diet record in women. J Epidemiol 1998; 8: 203-15.
2. Sasaki S, Yanagibori R, Amano K. Validity of a self-administered diet history questionnaire for assessment of sodium and potassium: Comparison with single 24-hour urinary excretion. Jpn Circ J 1998; 62: 431-5.
3. Sasaki S, Ushio F, Amano K, et al. Serum biomarker-based validation of a self-administered diet history questionnaire for Japanese subjects. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol 2000; 46: 285-96.
4. Sasaki S, Ishikawa T, Yanagibori R, et al. Responsiveness to a self administered diet history questionnaire in a work-site dietary intervention trial for mildly hypercholesterolemic Japanese subjects: correlation between change in dietary habits and serum cholesterol. J Cardiol 1999; 33: 327-38.
5. Murakami K, Sasaki S, Takahashi Y, et al. Reproducibility and relative validity of dietary glycaemic index and load assessed with a self-administered diet-history questionnaire in Japanese adults. Br J Nutr 2008; 99: 639-48.
6. Okubo H, Sasaki S, Rafamantanantsoa HH, et al. Validation of self-reported energy intake by a self-administered diet history questionnaire using the doubly labeled water method in 140 Japanese adults Eur J Clin Nutr (in press).
7. Sasaki S, Kim MK. Validation of self-administered dietary assessment questionnaires developed for Japanese subjects: systematic review. J Community Nutr 2003; 5: 83-92.
8.
佐々木敏. 生体指標ならびに食事歴法質問票を用いた個人に対する食事評価法の開発・検証(分担研究総合報告書).厚生科学研究費補助金 がん予防等健康科学総合研究事業:「健康日本21」における栄養・食生活プログラムの評価方法に関する研究(総合研究報告書:平成13~15年度:主任研究者:田中平三). 2004: 10-44.
9. Murakami K, Mizoue T, Sasaki S, et al. Dietary intake of folate, other B vitamins, and ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in relation to depressive symptoms in Japanese adults. Nutrition 2008; 24: 140-7.
10. Kobayashi S, Murakami K, Sasaki S, et al. Comparison of relative validity of food group intakes estimated by comprehensive and brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaires against 16 d dietary records in Japanese adults.
Public Health Nutr. 2011 Jul;14(7):1200-11.
11. Kobayashi S, Honda S, Murakami K, et al. Both comprehensive and brief self-administered diet history questionnaires satisfactorily rank nutrient intakes in Japanese adults.
J Epidemiol. 2012 Mar 5;22(2):151-9.

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