In the present study, we evaluated the reproducibility and validity of dietary patterns among Chinese adult populations. A random subsample of 203 participants (aged 31–80 years) from a community-based nutrition and health survey was enrolled. An eighty-seven-item FFQ was administered twice (FFQ1 and FFQ2) 1 year apart; four 3 consecutive day, 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDR, as a reference method) were performed between the administrations of the two FFQ every 3 months. Dietary patterns from three separate dietary sources were derived using factor analysis based on twenty-eight predefined food groups. Comparisons between dietary pattern scores were made by using Pearson’s or intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), cross-classification analysis, weighted κ statistic and Bland–Altman plots; the four major dietary patterns identified from FFQ1, FFQ2 and 24-HDR were similar. Regarding reproducibility, ICC for z-scores between FFQ1 and FFQ2 were all >0·6 for dietary patterns. The ‘animal and plant protein’ pattern had the highest ICC of 0·870. For validity, the adjusted Pearson’s correlation coefficients for dietary pattern z-scores between two FFQ and the mean of four 3 consecutive day 24-HDR ranged from 0·387 for the ‘Chinese traditional’ pattern to 0·838 for the ‘animal and plant protein’ pattern. More than 75 % of the participants were classified into the same or adjacent quartile, and <5 % were misclassified into opposite quartiles. The weighted κ ranged from 0·259 to 0·680. Bland–Altman plots indicated that no significant deviation was found between two dietary assessment methods. Our findings indicate a good reasonable reproducibility and a reasonable validity of dietary patterns derived by factor analysis in China.

We evaluated the reproducibility and validity of an FFQ used in a Chinese community-based nutrition and health survey. A total of ninety-nine males and 104 females aged 31–80 years completed four three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDR, served as a reference method, one three consecutive 24-HDR for each season) and two FFQ (FFQ1 and FFQ2) over a 1-year interval. The reproducibility of the FFQ was estimated with correlation coefficients, misclassification and weighted κ statistic. The validity was evaluated by comparing the data obtained from FFQ2 with the mean 24-HDR (m24-HDR). Compared with the m24-HDR, the FFQ tended to underestimate intake of most nutrients and food groups. For all nutrients and food groups, the Spearman’s and intra-class correlation coefficients between FFQ1 and FFQ2 ranged from 0·66 to 0·88 and from 0·65 to 0·87, respectively. Most correlation coefficients decreased after adjusting for energy. More than 90 % of the subjects were classified into the same or adjacent categories by both FFQ. For all nutrients and food groups, the crude, energy-adjusted and de-attenuated Spearman’s correlation coefficients between FFQ2 and the m24-HDR ranged from 0·21 to 0·69, 0·19 to 0·58 and 0·25 to 0·71, respectively. More than 70 % of the subjects were classified into the same and adjacent categories by both instruments. Both weighted κ statistic and the Bland–Altman plots showed reasonably acceptable agreement between the FFQ2 and the m24-HDR. The FFQ developed for adults in the Nanjing area can be used to reliably and validly measure usual intake of major nutrients and food groups.