Question 1
Question 1: How could the results of the study differed due to the fact that there were only four food items related to soy on the food frequency questionnaire and wet and dry tofu amounts were combined compared to the Shanghai Women’s Health Study which included 11 items on the questionnaire?
posted by Anonymous @ 6:04 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
Since, in this study, only four food items on the FFQ were related to soy as compared to 11 items in the Shanghai study, it is obvious that the results may be skewed. If the participants in the current study would have had the opportunity to respond to more soy-containing food items, the increased soy consumption could possibly have an effect on iron status. However, the results of the study indicated that tofu intake decreased the presence of anemia. Furthermore, wet tofu contains more water than dry, so this may be a limitation of the study since tofu intake and iron status are associated.
The study needs more than four food items related to soy to gain more positive conclusions between soy and anemia. Since there have been very few studies done on this topic, more research needs to be done and a more detailed food frequency questionnaire would enhance this study. I think separating the wet and dry tofu amount and gaining more soy items are great ideas and would create a stronger conclusion. This would give the participants more opportunities to choose soy items that they may consume.
-Sam
Since only four soy-related food items were listed on the FFQ, the women may in fact be getting more iron from soy than what was reported. If these participants were consuming more iron from soy/tofu, the results may have shown a stronger association between tofu and a lower prevalence of anemia, thus increasing confidence in the current findings.
Information about what the usual way to eat tofu is, either wet or dry, in this particular region was not specified. If it is about equal (wet and dry), it would likely not affect the results. If however, wet tofu is what is normally consumed, it will appear that they are eating more tofu than they really are, and therefore the results will show a stronger association than they should be showing.
In order to increase the validity of the study there should have been more than four food items on the FFQ. The participants could have been consuming more soy containing foods than what was being reported. Separating the wet and dry tofu as well as increasing the number of soy containing items would improve the reliability of this study.
This study should have borrowed the FFQ from the other study using 11 soy containing items. Presumably, that questionnaire has been validated, and would fit this study nicely. The study may have resulted in findings of LOWER soy and therefore iron intake because of the instrument used.
The idea that the researchers were trying to validate was worth while, but I think they should have used a FFQ with more than just 4 items. People don't just consume 4 items in their diet, they have a variety of foods that they eat or like and eat less often. Having more items would have allowed for a better understanding of just how much soy the Chinese actually consume.
Tori McRoberts
Sam,
I agree that the study should have had more items that contain soy. Having more items on the FFQ could have stimulated the memory of the participants and given different results.
Tori McRoberts
I think the research is really limited because they only included four food items realating to soy. There are many ways besides the four mentioned they could be consuming soy. The Shanghai study gave them some of those options. It warrants future research to get more accurate results.
susan
Tori,
I agree more options are always better. It's a frequency questionare so if there was something they liked and it was not mentioned then it would go unreported. The study is worthwhile and should be further developed.
susan
Having only four items that contained soy on the list would definitely throw the results of the study off when compared to a study that included 11 items on the questionnaire. Also, by having the wet and dry tofu added together this could have skewed the results. This could have underestimated the association between the intake of tofu and iron status because wet tofu has more water.
Food intake can vary greatly between people. And although a large part of the population may consume the four food items listed, many may have diets that include a large varieties of foods that weren't listed that are high in iron. More options should have been on the FFQ.
Myra
I agree with you Tori. Having more options on the FFQ would have given the researchers a truer picture.
Myra
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