The Menopause Symptom List consists of 25 symptoms associated with menopause. This can be used to the severity of the menopause experience and to monitor a woman's response to therapeutic interventions. The author is from University of Western Sydney in Australia.
Factor-based symptom classes:
(1) psychological
(2) vaso-somatic
(3) general somatic
|
Psychological Symptoms |
Weight |
|
tense feelings |
2 |
|
excitable |
2 |
|
depressed feelings |
2 |
|
moodiness |
2 |
|
irritability |
2 |
|
pressure or tightness in the head or body |
2 |
|
crying spells |
1 |
|
worry needlessly |
1 |
from Table 3, page 65
|
Vaso-Somatic Symptoms |
Weight |
|
palpitations |
2 |
|
shortness of breath |
2 |
|
numbness and tingling |
2 |
|
loss of feeling in hands and feet |
1 |
|
dry eyes |
1 |
|
cold hands and feet |
1 |
|
headaches |
1 |
|
involuntary sweating |
1 |
|
hot flushes |
1 |
|
General Somatic Symptoms |
Weight |
|
weight gain |
2 |
|
sleeplessness |
2 |
|
loss of sexual interest |
2 |
|
poor appetite |
1 |
|
dyspareunia |
1 |
|
poor concentration |
1 |
|
constipation |
1 |
|
early morning awakenings |
1 |
where:
• Many of these symptoms seem to me to reflect mixed anxiety and depression.
• The definitions for all of the symptoms evaluated are given in Table 1 on pages 60-61.
|
Frequency |
Points |
|
never (not at all in last 3 months) |
0 |
|
rarely (once or twice in last 3 months) |
1 |
|
occasionally (about 5 times in last 3 months) |
2 |
|
regularly (between 5 to 10 times in last 3 months) |
3 |
|
often (more than 10 times in last 3 months) |
4 |
|
almost always (almost daily in the last 3 months) |
5 |
|
Severity |
Points |
|
not experienced (also not applicable) |
0 |
|
slight (just noticeable change or sensation) |
1 |
|
mild (a small change or sensation) |
2 |
|
moderate (quite a noticeable change or sensation) |
3 |
|
severe (a strong change or sensation) |
4 |
|
extreme (a change or sensation that could not have been worse) |
5 |
points for each symptom =
= (point value) * (weighting)
Sources of uncertainty:
(1) Perz refers on page 64 of multiplying the symptom weight times "the item's original 0-6 score." From my reading, each symptom is graded on a 6-point Likert scale giving values from 0 to 5.
(2) The use of the weighting factor is definitely used for the symptom severity. I am not quite sure if it should also be used for the frequency score (this was done in the implementation).
subscore =
= SUM(points for all symptoms in each class)
total score =
= (points for psychological subscore) + (points for vaso-somatic subscore) + (points for general somatic subscore)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum psychological subscore: 70
• maximum vaso-somatic score: 60
• maximum general somatic score: 55
• maximum total score: 185
Performance:
• Test-retest reliability showed high coefficients (Table 4, page 66).
• Convergent validity was measured by comparing results with concurrent use of Greene's Climacteric Symptom Rating Scale (see above).
Specialty: Obstetrics & Gynecology
ICD-10: ,
