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Implementation of food frequency questionnaire for the assessment of total dietary arsenic intake in Bangladesh: Part B, preliminary findings

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Abstract

Dietary intake of water and food has been identified as one of the major pathways for arsenic (As) exposure in the rural population of Bangladesh. Therefore, realistic assessment and measurement of dietary intake patterns are important for the development of an accurate estimate of As exposure and human health risk assessment. One important consideration is to identify an appropriate tool for measuring dietary intake. In this study an interviewer-administered Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was implemented to determine age and gender specific dietary intake. The developed FFQ was unique because it developed a synergy between field dietary assessment and As concentration measurements in various environmental media. The resulting integrated database provided an accurate framework for the process of As exposure and human health risk assessment. The preliminary results reported here from the FFQ demonstrated that this technique could be used in rural areas as a tool to assess As exposure and the associated human health risk.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their thanks to DCH for their support and assistance during field surveys and for supplying laboratory facilities for sample pre-processing. This project could not have been completed without their support. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided for this project by AusAID. The Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR) and the University of South Australia provided financial support for Nasreen Islam Khan while she pursued her PhD studies, and the University of Dhaka provided study leave. CRC CARE provided funds for the purchase of the mobile mapper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), Mawson Lakes Campus, University of South Australia, South Australia, 5095, Australia

    Nasreen Islam Khan, Ravi Naidu & Gary Owens

  2. Department of Geography and Environment, Dhaka University, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    Nasreen Islam Khan

  3. School of Natural and Built Environments, City East Campus, University of South Australia, South Australia, 5095, Australia

    David Bruce

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  1. Nasreen Islam Khan
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Correspondence to Nasreen Islam Khan.

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Khan, N.I., Bruce, D., Naidu, R. et al. Implementation of food frequency questionnaire for the assessment of total dietary arsenic intake in Bangladesh: Part B, preliminary findings. Environ Geochem Health 31 (Suppl 1), 221–238 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-008-9232-3

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