How does the quality of surveys for nutrient intake adequacy assessment compare across Europe? A scoring system to rate the quality of data in such surveys.

摘要

Research was conducted within the EURopean micronutrient RECommendations Aligned (EURRECA) Network of Excellence, to find the best practice in assessing nutrient intakes. Objectives include: to search for and use data on individual nutrient intake adequacy (NIA) assessment collected in 28 European countries and the 4 European Free Trade Association countries; and to design and test innovative tools for data quality analysis. The best-practice criteria were devised to select the most appropriate survey in each country. Then a survey quality scoring system was developed in consultation with experts and tested on these surveys. Wt. were allocated according to a variable priority order agreed by consultation. The 32 countries yielded 24 national surveys (8 countries excluded). Data collection techniques: 11 countries/surveys used personal interviews only and 6 used combinations of techniques. Dietary assessment methods: 2 used repeated 24 h recalls only and 11 used combinations. NIA assessment methods: 2 used probabilistic approach and s.d./Z-scores only and 11 used comparison with estimated average requirements/RDA only. Countries were ranked according to the survey quality scoring, but careful interpretation is needed because of incomplete data from some surveys; bearing this in mind, the information quality is high in 37.5% countries, medium in 50.0 and low in 12.5%. Although there is room for improvement and caution should be taken when drawing conclusions and recommendations from these results, the lessons learned and tools developed at this 1st attempt form the basis for future work within the EURRECA framework for aligning European micronutrient recommendations.