Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39787110›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Relative validity and reproducibility of a short semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for Chinese athletes.

Qian Xu, Yudan Chu, Huajun Tian, Guoqiang Ma, Jun Qiu, Qiuping Zhang

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Qian XuKey Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Yudan ChuKey Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Huajun TianKey Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Guoqiang MaKey Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Jun QiuKey Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.
Qiuping ZhangKey Laboratory of General Administration of Sport for Exercise Performance Evaluation, Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science (Shanghai Anti-Doping Agency), Shanghai, China.ORCID 0009-0005-8271-1504

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A convenient but efficient tool for evaluating dietary intakes in Chinese professional athletes has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of a short semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) through comparison with 3-day weighed food records (3DWFRs) and corresponding serum biomarkers from a cohort of 102 professional athletes, while also evaluating its reproducibility. The relative validity was assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients, cross-quintiles classification, weighted kappa, and Bland-Altman analysis, while reproducibility was evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between two FFQs. The results showed the median (range) crude correlation coefficients (CCs) between the first FFQ and 3DWFRs for energy and nutrients, and the food groups were 0.331 (0.219 to 0.568) and 0.292 (-0.035 to 0.455), respectively. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (EPA, DHA, and EPA+DHA) intake estimated from the FFQ significantly correlated with corresponding serum biomarkers, with CCs ranging from 0.389 to 0.520. Weighted kappa statistics, indicating acceptable consistency (> 0.2) for most items, varied from -0.076 to 0.581, except for vitamin C, vegetables, and oils. Misclassification of nutrients and food groups into extreme quartiles was rare, with a median misclassification rate of 2% (ranging from 1% to 12%) and 3% (ranging 0 to 10%), respectively. Bland-Altman analysis revealed good agreement between FFQ and 3DWFRs, with over 90% of data points falling within the limits of agreement (LOA) for all assessed nutrients and food groups. In the reproducibility analysis, the median (range) crude CC and ICC for energy and nutrients were 0.574 (0.423 to 0.643) and 0.668 (0.558 to 0.763), respectively, while for food groups, they were 0.681 (0.242 to 0.764) and 0.640 (0.371 to 0.787), respectively. In conclusion, the short FFQ demonstrated acceptable relative validity and reproducibility for most nutrients and food groups, suggesting its potential as a valuable tool for assessing dietary intake and nutrition status among young Chinese athletes.

Indexed as

AthletesDiet SurveysAdultBiomarkersChinaDietDiet RecordsEast Asian PeopleFemaleHumansMaleReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultBiomarkers

Identifiers

PMID39787110
PMCPMC11717214

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.