Comparison of micronutrient-intake of lactatingmothers from the Hlabisa district in KwaZulu-Natalusing two different dietary intake methods

[摘要] INTRODUCTION: The objective of this research study was to analyze previouslycollected dietary intake data using multiple 24-hour dietary recalls and semiquantitativefood frequency questionnaires (FFQ's) in a group of HIV-positive andHIV-negative breastfeeding women from a rural region in KwaZulu-Natal in order tocompare the intake of selective micronutrients obtained with the two instruments.Identifying the pattern of food intake and the contribution of different foods to themicronutrient intake in this population group will contribute to possiblerecommendations aimed at dietary changes to improve dietary micronutrient intake.This study was designed as a sub-study of a longitudinal prospective cohort studyand subjects (N=108) were lactating mothers enrolled in a cohort which investigatedthe combined effect of HIV-infection and breastfeeding on women's nutritional status.METHOD: A locally constructed FFQ and 24h-recall were used to collect dietaryintake data from 108 subjects on three occasions, (~6 weeks, 14- and 24-weeks postpartum). Analysis was done using the Food Finder Program™2. Micronutrients underinvestigation were iron, zinc, copper, selenium, vitamin A, B6, C, D and E, thiamin,riboflavin and folic acid and were selected on their relevance in HIV (AIDS).Descriptive statistics was used to determine the consumption of food items aspercentage of all food items consumed and to calculate mean, mode, median andrange of serving sizes for the ten food items most frequently consumed (measuredwith the 24h and FFQ respectively). Data was not normally distributed (indicated bythe paired t-test and confirmed with a RM ANOVA nonparametric test). The F-valuewas determined (using Wilcoxon matched pairs test) and the significance of thedifference between the micronutrient intakes measured with the two instruments(p<0.05) calculated. To investigate the strength of the correlation between the twodietary intake measures, Spearman's correlation coefficients were determined for thenutrients under investigation. The significance level for these measurements was95% (p<0.05). RESULTS: Both methods identified maize meal and mahewu, bread, chicken, driedbeans, cabbage, onion, bananas, oranges and green leaves as the foods most oftenconsumed. Bread, dried beans, maas, pilchards, mango and green wild leaves werethe foods that contributed the most to the micronutrients under investigation. Althoughmaize meal (in the form of phutu or mahewu) was the food item most frequentlyconsumed in large portions, it was not in the top ten food items for any micronutrientcontribution, except for selenium. Correlation coefficients (unadjusted for energy) inthis study were very poor, ranging from 0.038 for vitamin B12 up to 0.48 for iron. Allcorrelations (except vitamin B12) were poor but significant (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: There was some agreement found in the type of foods mostfrequently consumed and their contribution to the micronutrient intake of thispopulation group, when using three 24h-recalls and FFQ's and therefore in describingthe habitual food intake of the population group. There was however no agreementbetween the micronutrient intake measured with three 24h-recalls and three FFQ's(p<0.05). Further analysis of the data and comparisons with the biochemical resultsreported in another study, is recommended.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University