Survey study, 2021
Is there a reliable tool to measure menstrual distress?
Researchers created MEDI-Q, a 25-question questionnaire that reliably measures menstrual distress and can identify women experiencing significant period-related problems.
What they did
Researchers developed a 25-question questionnaire about menstrual distress and tested it with 418 healthy women aged 18-50 at a hospital in Florence, Italy from June 2019 to May 2020. The questionnaire covered pain, discomfort, psychological or cognitive changes, digestive symptoms, and changes in physical functions.
What they found
The MEDI-Q questionnaire produced reliable results and measured what it was supposed to measure. Scores correlated with general mental health concerns and premenstrual symptoms. A score of 20 or higher indicated clinically relevant menstrual distress.
What it means for you
A new tool is available to consistently measure how much distress someone experiences during their period. This could help doctors identify women suffering from periods and monitor them over time. The main limit is this was tested in one hospital in Italy with generally healthy women, so results may not apply to all women or countries.
418
healthy women studied
18-50
age range in years
20
score indicating clinically relevant distress
About the study
- Original title
- Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MEDI-Q): a new tool to assess menstruation-related distress
- Authors
- Vannuccini S, Rossi E, Cassioli E et al.
- Journal
- Reproductive biomedicine online
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 418
- What was tested
- A new 25-item menstrual distress questionnaire
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.08.029
Topics
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