Am J Epidemiol. 2000 Oct; 152(8): 752-5.

Urinary 1-methylhistidine is a marker of meat consumption in Black and in White California Seventh-day Adventists.

Myint T, Fraser GE, Lindsted KD, Knutsen SF, Hubbard RW, Bennett HW.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Loma Linda University, CA 92350, USA.

Meat consumption predicts risk of several chronic diseases. The authors validate the accuracy of meat consumption reported by food frequency questionnaires and the mean of eight 24-hour recalls, using urinary methylhistidine excretion, in 55 Black and 71 White Adventist subjects in Los Angeles and San Diego, California, in 1994-1997. 1-Methylhistidine excretion predicts vegetarian status in Black (p = 0.02) and in White (p = 0.005) subjects. Spearman's correlation coefficients between 1-methylhistidine and estimated meat consumption were usually between 0.4 and 0.6 for both food frequency questionnaires and 24-hour recall data. This is despite the chance collection of dietary recalls and urines from omnivores on meatless days.