Symptoms:
(1) heart beating quickly or strongly
(2) feeling tense or nervous
(3) difficulty in sleeping
(4) excitable
(5) attacks of panic
(6) difficulty in concentrating
(7) feeling tired or lacking in energy
(8) loss of interest in most things
(9) feeling unhappy or depressed
(10) crying spells
(11) irritability
(12) feeling dizzy or faint
(13) pressure or tightness in head or body
(14) parts of the body feel numb or tingling
(15) headaches
(16) muscle and joint pains
(17) loss of feeling in hands and feet
(18) breathing difficulties
(19) hot flushes
(20) sweating at night
(21) loss of interest in sex
where:
• The question on loss of interest in sex can be followed by additional questions if appropriate.
|
Response
|
Points
|
|
not at all
|
0
|
|
a little
|
1
|
|
quite a bit
|
2
|
|
extremely
|
3
|
total score =
= SUM(points for all 21 symptoms)
subscore for anxiety =
= SUM(points for items 1 to 6)
subscore for depression =
= SUM(points for items 7 to 11)
subscore for psychologic symptoms =
= (points for anxiety) + (points for depression)
subscore for somatic complaints =
= SUM(points for items 12 to 18)
subscore for vasomotor symptoms =
= SUM(points for items 19 and 20)
subscore for change in interest in sex =
= (points for item 21)
Performance:
• The scale was constructed to meet psychometric standards for selecting symptoms which were found to have a high degree of concurrence.
• I did not see mention of measures for reliability or other performance items.
Limitations:
• I am not sure how one would separate out pre-existing anxiety or depression from the feelings ascribed to menopause. This may not be relevant to the woman experiencing the symptoms.
