https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2020.1760071

Ratelle, M., Skinner, K., Packull-McCormick, S., and Laird, B. (2020). Food frequency questionnaire assessing traditional food consumption in Dene/Métis communities, Northwest Territories, Canada, International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 79, 1760071, https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2020.1760071

Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) are surveys used to assess dietary behaviour and to estimate the frequency and the composition of specific foods or groups of food [1]. One challenge encountered in epidemiological studies on diet has been the unreliability of dietary intake; FFQs are generally designed to assess the ranking of intakes but not to provide an absolute estimate of intake [1]. However, the simplicity in administering FFQs and their cost-effectiveness are strong advantages. As such, FFQs have been used in previous projects for traditional food consumption assessment and nutrient intake estimation [2–8], and in some cases to estimate contaminant intakes [9–11].

While traditional foods are part of healthy living, the consumption of these foods may contribute significantly to human exposure to numerous contaminants, including mercury and cadmium, especially for northern populations [12]. Elevated levels of mercury and cadmium were reported in several wild-harvested fish species and moose organs (e.g., liver and kidney) in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Accordingly, the Government of the NWT Department of Health and Social Services disseminated this information to the public via the release of a series of consumption notices [13]. These notices recommend limiting the consumption of locally harvested moose liver and kidney from the South Mackenzie Mountain, as well as several fish species (according to waterbody and fish length). However, traditional foods are an important source of nutrients and are associated with an improved nutrition status [7,14], which may aid in increasing food security for Indigenous people in Canada. Therefore, to better understand the public health challenges posed by contaminants in traditional food, a community-based human biomonitoring project Contaminant Biomonitoring in the Northwest Territories Mackenzie Valley was implemented in nine First Nations communities of the NWT. The aim of this biomonitoring project was to assess contaminant exposures, nutrition markers, and the role of traditional foods in participating communities in the Mackenzie Valley, NWT [15,16]. As part of this project, participants completed a pair of foods surveys (i.e., 24-h recall, FFQ).

As part of the larger project, the objective of the research reported here was to refine and implement an FFQ to estimate dietary consumption of environmental contaminants through traditional foods for Indigenous communities in the Sahtú and Dehcho regions in the NWT. This research consisted of: 1) using multiple focus groups to refine the food list and question format used in the FFQ, 2) implementing the refined survey in nine communities of the Dehcho and Sahtú regions for which food consumption patterns are presented below.

NWF

https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2020.1760071