The specific forms of 24 h dietary recall used by national nutrition surveys differ, such as two non-consecutive days and three consecutive days. However, it is unclear which form of 24 h dietary recall is more accurate in the Chinese population. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of 24 h recalls on two consecutive days (C2), three consecutive days (C3), two non-consecutive days (NC2), and three non-consecutive days (NC3) in estimating Chinese adult dietary intake. A total of 595 participants completed more than twenty-three 24 h recalls. The average of all completed 24 h recalls of each subject was defined as the individual’s true dietary intake. The dietary intake in the four scenarios of 24 h recalls was calculated using the within-person mean (WPM) method and National Cancer Institute (NCI) method and compared with the true values. Equivalent testing was used to evaluate whether scenarios NC2 and C3 were equivalent. Bias and mean bias were used as a measure of precision and accuracy, respectively. For the WPM method, the precision between the four scenarios was similar. For mean, the accuracy between the four scenarios was similar, yielding estimates that were close to the true intakes. However, for percentiles, the accuracy in descending order was scenario NC3, C3, NC2, and C2. Furthermore, the difference between two and three days was greater than that between consecutive and non-consecutive days. In most case, the distribution of dietary intakes calculated from scenarios NC2 and C3 was equivalent with equivalence margins of 5% (p < 0.05). Usually, the NCI method was significantly more accurate than the WPM method. We concluded that three non-consecutive 24 h recalls relative to three consecutive days increases accuracy. Two non-consecutive days can be substituted to some extent for three consecutive days. The new form of 24 h recall needs to be used with caution when applied practically in the China nutrition surveys. Furthermore, using the NCI method to calculate dietary intake from 24 h recall may be a way to reduce costs and increase accuracy.

Our current study aimed to estimate the relationship between dietary patterns and hyperuricemia among the Chinese elderly over 60 years old. All the data were obtained from China Nutrition and Health Surveillance during 2015–2017. A total of 18,691 participants who completed the whole survey were included in our statistical analysis. The definition of hyperuricemia was 420 μmmol/L (7 mg/dL) for male and 360 μmmol/L (6 mg/dL) for female. Exploratory factor analysis was applied to explore posterior dietary patterns in our samples, and five dietary patterns were recognized, namely “Typical Chinese”, “Modern Chinese”, “Western”, “Animal products and alcohol”, and “Tuber and fermented vegetables”. After multiple adjusted logistic regression, participants in the highest quartile of “typical Chinese” (Q4 vs. Q1, OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.28–0.37, p-trend < 0.0001), “modern Chinese” (Q4 vs. Q1, OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.71–0.93, p-trend = 0.0021) and “tuber and fermented vegetables” (Q4 vs. Q1, OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69–0.88, p-trend < 0.0001) showed a lower risk of hyperuricemia, while animal products and alcohol was positively associated with hyperuricemia (Q4 vs. Q1, OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.31–1.7, p-trend < 0.0001). We also found that participants who mainly ate a modern Chinese diet tended to meet the RNI/AI of nutrients we discuss in this paper, which may supply some information for hyperuricemia prevention and management by dietary methods.

Previous studies have used the traditional average-value method to calculate the usual dietary intake of a population, but the results may be biased due to the measurement errors. The aim of this study was to provide an assessment of the usual micronutrient intake and estimate the prevalence of inadequate intake among Chinese adults. Data from the Chinese Nutrition and Health Surveillance 2015–2017 as well as a total of 72,231 subjects aged 18 years and older were included in the analysis. The 24 h recall method combined with the condiment weighing method were used for three consecutive days to collect daily food and condiments intake. The daily intake of 16 micronutrients was calculated based on the Chinese Food Component Tables. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) method was used to estimate the usual intake of micronutrients, and the prevalence of inadequate intake was estimated using the estimated average requirement (EAR) cut-point method. The results showed that, except for sodium, copper, iron (only for males), vitamin E, and phosphorus, the usual intake of micronutrients in Chinese adults was low, and the prevalence of inadequate intake ranged from 38.67 to 97.63%. The prevalence of inadequate calcium and riboflavin intake was more than 90%, and the proportion of individuals with a usual intake of thiamine, vitamin A, potassium, and selenium below EAR also reached 80%. Manganese, magnesium, vitamin C, and zinc were potentially deficient micronutrients, with the prevalence of inadequate intake ranging from 38.67% to 77.09%. However, usual sodium intake was extremely high with an average of 5139.61 mg/day, and only a quarter of Chinese adults were below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended value. For most micronutrients, the usual dietary intake declined with age and the prevalence of inadequate intake increased with age. Except for zinc, vitamin A, and B-vitamins, the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies was higher in females than in males in the same age group (p < 0.05). Therefore, Chinese adults do not receive enough micronutrients. Effective nutrition supplementary strategies and measures are needed to address these problems.

The 24-h recall (24HR) is a short-term dietary assessment instrument that is widely used in large-scale nutrition surveys. The number of survey days is critical in the accuracy of estimates. The multiple, repeated collection of 24HRs can yield reliable dietary intakes, whereas that is not always feasible due to staffing, equipment, financial, and temporal constraints. The NCI (National Cancer Institute) method was developed to address this limitation by using only within-person variance to calculate usual dietary intake. However, the performance of different forms of 24HRs based on the NCI method remains unclear. The aim of this study was to explore a form of 24HR based on the NCI method that can balance accuracy and survey cost. A total of 595 subjects completed 7 consecutive 24HRs in each season, for a total of 28 24HRs. The averages of the 28 collection days were defined as the reference value to compare the performance of 24HRs for two consecutive days (C2), three consecutive days (C3), two non-consecutive days (NC2), and three non-consecutive days (NC3) for estimating the dietary intakes of Chinese adults. The equivalence test was used to evaluate whether the estimates of scenarios NC2 and NC3 were equivalent. Additionally, the accuracy of a scenario of NC2 which included a weekend was compared to that of a scenario of NC2 which included two weekdays. All results of the 24HRs in each scenario were corrected by the NCI method. Bias/relative bias and mean bias/mean relative bias were used as measures of precision and accuracy, respectively. The results showed that the precision was similar among the four scenarios, while the accuracy relationship varied among the different dietary components. In general, scenario NC3 was the most accurate, followed by scenario NC2, which was close to the former. The form using non-consecutive days was more accurate than that using consecutive days, and the main factor affecting the accuracy of the 24HRs was the continuity between multiple survey days rather than the number of days. The means and major percentiles of energy, nutrients, and frequently consumed food in scenarios NC2 and NC3 were functionally identical. The accuracy of the scenario of NC2 which included a weekend was higher than that of scenario NC2, which consisted of only weekdays. The above results indicated that the adoption of two, non-consecutive 24HRs consisting of a weekend and a weekday to collect dietary data prior to correction by the NCI method, is a feasible approach to balancing survey costs and accuracy in large-scale nutrition surveys.

The Multiple Source Method (MSM) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) method are used to estimate usual dietary intake from short-term dietary assessment instruments, such as 24 hour dietary recall (24-HRs). However, their performance has not been validated in the Chinese population via nutrition surveys. To validate the accuracy of the MSM and NCI method in estimating usual dietary intake in the Chinese population, 752 individuals from northern and southern China answered four seasons of seven consecutive 24-HRs (one for each season). The true usual dietary intake was considered as the average of the 28 collection days of dietary component intake. Using data sets with consecutive 3 collection days, the usual intakes of the selected dietary components were estimated by MSM, NCI and the within-person mean of three 24-HRs (3 day method). These estimates were compared with the true usual intake at the group and individual level. At the group level, the MSM and NCI method performed similarly, yielding estimates closer to the true usual intake than 3 day method. The percentage differences of the estimates for dietary components not consumed daily from the MSM and NCI method were larger than for the dietary components consumed daily. However, the larger percentage differences were observed in the tail of the usual intake distribution. In general, dietary components with larger variance ratios had greater percentage differences. At the individual level, for overall seasons and dietary components, the biases of individual usual intake did agree for MSM and NCI method, whereas NCI method estimates were closer to true intakes than for the MSM and 3 day method. Similar results were observed in the relative biases of dietary components consumed daily. As with the group level, there was less percentage difference in dietary components consumed daily. Both the MSM and NCI method can be used to estimate usual intake in Chinese populations and are closer to the true usual intake than the traditional mean method, at both group and individual levels.

Background: Greater adherence of Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) or the Mediterranean dietary pattern were reported to be beneficial for blood pressure. However, both were established based on Western populations. Our current study aimed to explore a dietary pattern which might be suitable for hypertension prevention and control among Chinese adults nationwide. Methods: A total of 61,747 Chinese adults aged over 18 years from China Nutrition and Health Surveillance 2015–2017 was included in this study. Using reduced-rank regression (RRR) method, a dietary pattern with higher intakes of those nutrients which are inversely associated with the risk of hypertension was identified. DASH-score was also calculated for each participant for further validate the dietary pattern derived by RRR method. Multi-adjustment logistic regression was applied to examine the association between above two dietary patterns and hypertension prevention and control. Results: Dietary pattern named Beneficial for Blood Pressure (BBP) diet was characterized by higher fresh vegetables and fruits, mushrooms/edible fungi, dairy products, seaweeds, fresh eggs, nuts and seeds, legumes and related products, aquatic products, coarse cereals, and less refined grains and alcohol consumption. After multiple adjustment, protective effects showed on both hypertension prevention and control (for prevention: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.842, 95% CI = 0.791–0.896; for control: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.762, 95% CI = 0.629–0.924). For the DASH-diet, significant results were also observed (for prevention: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.912, 95% CI = 0.854–0.973; for control: Q5 vs. Q1, OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.616–0.938). Conclusions: BBP-diet derived from Chinese adults has high conformity with the DASH-diet, and it might serve as an adjuvant method for both hypertension prevention and control.