Data Dictionaries

All Variables

The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) asked Diet and Observational study participants about their eating habits. The nutrient database used is the Nutrition Data System for Research (version 2005; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota). The following files are created from these data.

The items file contains the responses to these questions.
The nutrients andMPED components (My Pyramid Equivalents Database 2.0) variables were calculated from those responses
The remaining files contain variables for several standard heathy eating indices (HEI) that were calculated using the MPED and nutrient files.

This section also provides documentation relating to the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Energy-Adjusted DII (E-DII) Index (University of South Carolina).

Title	Collected at	Ppts	One row per	Data as of	Keywords
Form 60 - AHEI 2010 Variables	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Participant Visit	Mar 2018	Diet
Form 60 - Food Frequency Questionnaire - Nutrients	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Form	Feb 2024	Alcohol, Diet
Form 60 - HEI 2005 Variables	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Participant Visit	Mar 2018	Diet
Form 60 - HEI 2010 Variables	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Participant Visit	Mar 2018	Diet
Form 60 - HEI 2015 Variables	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Participant Visit	Mar 2018	Diet
Form 60 - Items	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Form	Feb 2024	Diet
Form 60 - MPEDS Variables	Baseline, Main	CT+OS	Participant Visit	Mar 2018	Diet

Download Datasets

See Working with WHI Data for instructions on how to get download access.

FFQ Collection Timepoints

Clinical Trials & Observational Study

Questionnaire	Baseline	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Closeout
60 FFQ *Year 2: 30% cross sectional 33% rotating subsample starting in the year 2000, such that for year 3 and each subsequent year each DM participant received an FFQ at once every 3 years.	Y	DM	DM%	DM%/OS	DM%	DM%	DM%	DM%	DM%	DM%

Legend

Y = All Participants
OS = Observation Studies
DM = Dietary Modification Trial

Collection notes:
Precise dates for each questionnaire vary; for example, a questionnaire shown as 2022 could correspond to data collection over the period from February 2022 to January 2023.
* = Form 151 was collected annually from the start of Extension Study 1 (in 2005) until 2018. Starting in 2019, Form 151 was replaced with Forms 151A and 151B, with plans to alternate versions yearly. Form 151 continued to be collected from proxies during this time. Deviations from this schedule are noted in the table above. The Form 151 series was replaced by the Form 160 series starting in March 2025.
** = Starting in March 2025, the Form 160 series replaced the Form 151 series. The Form 160 series consists of an annually-administered questionnaire (Form 160) as well as a supplemental questionnaire that changes each year. The first supplemental questionnaire (Form 161) was administered in 2025 with plans for replacement by a second supplemental questionnaire (Form 162) in 2026. Proxies receive Form 160P, a shortened version of Form 160. Proxies do not receive the supplemental questionnaire.

My Pyramid Equivalents Database 2.0 (MPED) components

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MPED 2.0 (MPED) includes 32 per 100 grams equivalent food grouping measures. The MPED components are the building blocks of many dietary pattern scoring systems, such as but not limited to, the Healthy Eating Index 2005 (HEI-2005), HEI-2010, HEI-2015. The HEI-2005, HEI-2010 and HEI-2015scores are based on the USDA 2005, 2010 and 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, respectively. The MPED components are based on dietary assessment data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) nutrition component, What We Eat in America.

For documentation of the WHI MPED components, see For the WHI FFQ: My Pyramid Equivalents Database 2.0 (MPED 2.0).
For more information about the USDA MPED components, see the MyPyramid Equivalents Database, 2.0 for USDA Survey Foods, 2003-2004: Documentation and User Guide , which is posted to the USDA website.
Suggested citation for the MPED components used in the WHI: Bowman SA, Friday JE, Moshfegh A. (2008). MyPyramid Equivalents Database, 2.0 for USDA Survey Foods, 2003-2004 [Online] Food Surveys Research Group. Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD. Available at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/fsrg
The Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) is a newer food grouping system that is very similar to the MPED. The FPED converts the foods and beverages in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) to the 37 USDA Food Patterns components.. The MPED and FPEDs are sufficiently similar that the WHI retains the MPED for computing dietary indices. FPED components are not available among the WHI variables.

Dietary Quality Indices

Several dietary quality indices have been computed from the MPED components and FFQ nutrients. See below for ReadMe files with details about the computations. For the aMed and DASH, scores are dependent on the analytic sample, and thus for these two indices SAS code and computational instructions are provided and not the data. The data can be downloaded from the Download page by investigators with approved access and logins.

Resources and Guidelines for working with the WHI dietary data

FFQ Analysis of Folate
Biomarker Calibration Information (★new version, January 2018★)
- W8 Nutritional Biomarkers Study (NBS) Information and Data
- AS218 Nutrition and Physical Activity Assessment Study (NPAAS) Information and Data
WHI FFQ Diet-Disease Analysis Guidelines
WHI FFQ Nutrient Database Estimations – considerations for researchers
Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Development Methods

Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) and Energy-Adjusted DII (E-DII) Index (University of South Carolina)

The dietary inflammatory index (DII®) and energy-adjusted DII (E-DII™) scores, which are computed from food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data by Dr. Hébert et al., are posted to the WHI website as a courtesy to streamline DII and E-DII data access for approved users. Use of the DII and E-DII data is contingent upon having (1) an approved WHI paper proposal that includes use of the DII and/or E-DII, (2) a signed WHI Data Use Agreement (DUA), and (3) assigned DII Materials Transfer and Data Use Agreement (MTDUA) from the University of South Carolina that is administered by Dr. Hébert et al.’s team. Please contact Drs. Nitin Shivappa (shivappa@email.sc.edu) or James Hébert (jhebert@sc.edu) for all questions about the DII and E-DII data and the DII and E-DII MTDUA.

DII and E-DII files.

DII Data Dictionary

Access to the DII datasets are available through the WHI Data Repository once data access requirements are met.

REFERENCES

Hebert JR, Shivappa N, Wirth MD, Hussey JR, Hurley TG. Perspective: The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®): Lessons Learned, Improvements Made and Future Directions. Adv Nutr 2019;10(2):185-95.
Tabung FK, Steck SE, Zhang J, Ma Y, Liese AD, Agalliu I, Hingle M, Hou L, Hurley TG, Jiao L, Martin LW, Millen AE, Park HL, Rosal MC, Shikany JM, Shivappa N, Ockene JK, Hebert JR. Construct validation of the dietary inflammatory index among postmenopausal women. Ann Epidemiol 2015;25(6):398-405.
Shivappa N, Steck SE, Hurley TG, Hussey JR, Hebert JR. Designing and developing a literature-derived population-based dietary inflammatory index. Public Health Nutr 2014;17(6):1689-96.