---
title: Is a 10-item symptom checklist as good as a 95-item one for measuring PMS?
description: Yes, a 10-item checklist had high internal consistency and reliability. It measures three main symptom areas: mood, water retention, and pain.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-shortened-premenstrual-assessment-form-1991/
---

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- Is a 10-item symptom checklist as good as a 95-item one for measuring PMS?

Survey study, 1991

# Is a 10-item symptom checklist as good as a 95-item one for measuring PMS?

Yes, a 10-item checklist had high internal consistency and reliability. It measures three main symptom areas: mood, water retention, and pain.

 Early or limited evidence

Women visiting clinic for PMS assessment (sample size and location not specified)

## What they did

Researchers shortened a 95-item PMS symptom form to 10 items based on symptoms most often reported before menstruation. They tested it at baseline and at 6 and 12 month follow-up clinic visits.

## What they found

The 10-item version had high internal consistency and reliability. It identified three symptom subscales: affect (mood), water retention, and pain. The intercorrelation between subscales and total score over time was strong.

## What it means for you

A shorter checklist works well for assessing PMS in clinical practice. This tells us how to measure symptoms accurately, not which treatments work. The study population is not described in the abstract.

10 items

shortened form length

95 items

original form length

3

symptom subscales identified

## About the study

Original title The shortened premenstrual assessment form Authors Allen SS, McBride CM, Pirie PL Journal The Journal of reproductive medicine Year 1991 Study design Survey study What was tested A shortened symptom assessment form Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1765953/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1765953/)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

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