Introduction: This study aimed to develop and examine the validity and
reproducibility of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) among
Malay pregnant women in Kelantan, Malaysia. Methods: A total of 177 Malay
pregnant women participated in the validation study while 85 of them
participated in the reproducibility study which was carried out in the antenatal
clinic of Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital. The newly developed FFQ was
validated against two 24-hour dietary recalls (DR). The FFQ was repeated 20 to
28 days apart. Results: Results showed that the FFQ moderately over estimated
the nutrient and food intakes compared to the DR. Spearman correlation
coefficients for nutrients ranged from 0.24 (fat) to 0.61 (calcium) and for foods,
ranged from 0.13 (organ meats, onion and garlic) to 0.57 (malt drink). For
nutrients, 72 to 85% of women were classified into the correct quartiles from the
FFQ and the DR while for foods, 67 to 85% of women were classified correctly.
Bland-Altman plot showed relatively good agreement between these two dietary
methods. The intra-class correlation (ICC) was used to estimate reproducibility.
It ranged from 0.75 (vitamin C) to 0.94 (phosphorus) for nutrients while it ranged
from 0.73 (confectionary) to 0.96 (coffee) for foods. Conclusion: On average, at
least 90% of pregnant women were correctly classified into the quartiles for
nutrients and foods from the two sets of the FFQ. The FFQ presented acceptable
reproducibility and appears to be a valid tool for categorising pregnant women
according to dietary intake.