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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Boston, Massachusetts » Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #396024
Research Project: Personalized Nutrition and Healthy Aging

Location: Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging

Title: Integrative development of a short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF)

Author
item MARTINEZ-PEREZ, CELIA - Imdea Institute
item DAIMIEL, LIDIA - Imdea Institute
item CLIMENT-MAINAR, CRISTINA - Imdea Institute
item MARTINEZ-GONZALEZ, MIGUEL - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item SALAS-SALVADO, JORDI - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item CORELLA, DOLORES - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item SCHRODER, HELMUT - Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute
item MARTINEZ, JOSE ALFREDO - Imdea Institute
item ALONSO-GOMEZ, ANGEL - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item WARNBERG, JULIA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item VIOQUE, JESUS - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item ROMAGUERA, DORA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item LOPEZ-MIRANDA, JOSE - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item ESTRUCH, RAMON - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item TINAHONES, FRANCISCO - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item LAPETRA, JOSE - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item SERRA-MAJEM, LLUIS - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item BUENO-CAVANILLAS, AURORA - University De Granada
item TUR, JOSEP - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item SANCHEZ, VICENTE - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item PINTO, XAVIER - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item DELGADO-RODRIGUEZ, MIGUEL - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item MATIA-MARTIN, PILAR - Health Research Institute Of The San Carlos Clinical Hospital
item VIDAL, JOSEP - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item VAZQUEZ, CLOTILDE - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item ROS, EMILIO - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item BASTERRA, JAVIER - University Of Navarra
item BABIO, NANCY - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item GUILLEM-SAIZ, PATRICIA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item ZOMENO, MARIA DOLORES - Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute
item ABETE, ITZIAR - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item VAQUERO-LUNA, JESSICA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item BARON-LOPEZ, FRANCISCO - University Of Malaga
item GONZALEZ-PALACIOS, SANDRA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item KONIECZNA, JADWIGA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item GARCIA-RIOS, ANTONIO - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item BERNAL-LOPEZ, MARIA ROSA - University Of Malaga
item SANTOS-LOZANO, JOSE MANUEL - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item BES-RASTROLLO, MAIRA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item KHOURY, NADINE - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item SAIZ, CARMEN - University Of Valencia
item PEREZ-VEGA, KARLA - Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute
item ZULET, MARIA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item TOJAL-SIERRA, LUCAS - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item VAZQUEZ RUIZ, ZENAIDA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item MARTINEZ, MARIA - Instituto De Salud Carlos Iii
item MALCAMPO, MIREIA - Hospital Del Mar Medical Research Institute
item ORDOVAS, JOSE - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University
item SAN-CRISTOBAL, RODRIGO - Imdea Institute

Submitted to: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/22/2021
Publication Date: 1/24/2022
Citation: Martinez-Perez, C., Daimiel, L., Climent-Mainar, C., Martinez-Gonzalez, M.A., Salas-Salvado, J., Corella, D., Schroder, H., Martinez, J., Alonso-Gomez, A.M., Warnberg, J., Vioque, J., Romaguera, D., Lopez-Miranda, J., Estruch, R., Tinahones, F.J., Lapetra, J., Serra-Majem, L., Bueno-Cavanillas, A., Tur, J.A., Sanchez, V.M., Pinto, X., Delgado-Rodriguez, M.A., Matia-Martin, P., Vidal, J., Vazquez, C., Ros, E., Basterra, J., Babio, N., Guillem-Saiz, P., Zomeno, M., Abete, I., Vaquero-Luna, J., Baron-Lopez, F.J., Gonzalez-Palacios, S., Konieczna, J., Garcia-Rios, A., Bernal-Lopez, M., Santos-Lozano, J., Bes-Rastrollo, M., Khoury, N., Saiz, C., Perez-Vega, K.A., Zulet, M., Tojal-Sierra, L., Vazquez Ruiz, Z., Martinez, M.A., Malcampo, M., Ordovas, J.M., San-Cristobal, R. 2022. Integrative development of a short screening questionnaire of highly processed food consumption (sQ-HPF). International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 19(1):6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01240-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-021-01240-6

Interpretive Summary: The consumption of highly processed foods, also known as Ultra-processed food (UPF), is on the rise in the US and all over the world. Some research suggests their excessive consumption is associated with chronic diseases and mortality. However, the results are inconsistent, partly because dietary instruments used to get information about what people eat were not explicitly developed for this purpose. Therefore, Investigators at the HNRCA in Boston, in collaboration with Spanish investigators, created and validated a short screening questionnaire of HPF consumption (sQ-HPF). This will be a valuable instrument to study the relationship between UPF and age-related diseases more precisely.

Technical Abstract: BACKGROUND: Recent lifestyle changes include increased consumption of highly processed foods (HPF), which has been associated with an increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, nutritional information relies on the estimation of HPF consumption from food-frequency questionnaires (FFQ) that are not explicitly developed for this purpose. We aimed to develop a short screening questionnaire of HPF consumption (sQ-HPF) that integrates criteria from the existing food classification systems. METHODS: Data from 4400 participants (48.1% female and 51.9% male, 64.9 +/- 4.9 years) of the Spanish PREDIMED-Plus ("PREvention with MEDiterranean DIet") trial were used for this analysis. Items from the FFQ were classified according to four main food processing-based classification systems (NOVA, IARC, IFIC and UNC). Participants were classified into tertiles of HPF consumption according to each system. Using binomial logistic regression, food groups associated with agreement in the highest tertile for at least two classification systems were chosen as items for the questionnaire. ROC analysis was used to determine cut-off points for the frequency of consumption of each item, from which a score was calculated. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was assessed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's analysis, and agreement with the four classifications was assessed with weighted kappa coefficients. RESULTS: Regression analysis identified 14 food groups (items) associated with high HPF consumption for at least two classification systems. EFA showed that items were representative contributors of a single underlying factor, the "HPF dietary pattern" (factor loadings around 0.2). We constructed a questionnaire asking about the frequency of consumption of those items. The threshold frequency of consumption was selected using ROC analysis. Comparison of the four classification systems and the sQ-HPF showed a fair to high agreement. Significant changes in lifestyle characteristics were detected across tertiles of the sQ-HPF score. Longitudinal changes in HPF consumption were also detected by the sQ-HPF, concordantly with existing classification systems. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a practical tool to measure HPF consumption, the sQ-HPF. This may be a valuable instrument to study its relationship with NCDs.