MenoScale: A novel digital tool to measure menopause symptoms and subjective quality of life – validation, preliminary insights on the menopausal experience and association with diet quality

TY - JOUR

T1 - MenoScale

T2 - A novel digital tool to measure menopause symptoms and subjective quality of life – validation, preliminary insights on the menopausal experience and association with diet quality

AU - Kim, Curie

AU - Marples, Lucy

AU - Platts, Alexander

AU - Bermingham, Kate M.

AU - Amati, Federica

AU - Hamoda, Haitham

AU - Pounis, George

AU - Wolf, Jonathan

AU - Spector, Tim D.

AU - Hall, Wendy L.

AU - Berry, Sarah E.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.

PY - 2025/4/2

Y1 - 2025/4/2

N2 - Background: Menopause symptoms significantly impact women’s quality of life, yet existing assessment tools may not fully capture the menopausal experience. The MenoScale is a new digital tool for reporting the number and impact of menopause-associated symptoms. Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the MenoScale, and explore its application as a research tool. Study design: Development of novel MenoScale tool and an online validation study comparing it to the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS) and RAND 36-item Health Survey 1.0, with 1010 peri- and postmenopausal women aged 37–70 years. Main outcome measures: Construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and associations with quality of life and dietary intake. Results: The MenoScale showed good agreement between the MenoScale and GCS through Bland-Altman plot analysis. Internal consistency varied across four symptom domains: vasomotor, sexual, psychological and cognitive, and somatic (Cronbach’s α = 0.5–0.8). Structural equation modelling revealed psychological and cognitive symptoms as central to the menopausal experience. Higher Healthy Eating Index scores were associated with slightly lower MenoScale scores (β = −0.132, p <.001). In the first 12 weeks post-launch, 65,181 women from 140 countries completed the online MenoScale. Conclusion: The MenoScale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing menopause symptoms, offering a comprehensive assessment of the menopausal experience. The association between diet quality and symptom burden warrants further investigation. The rapid uptake of the online MenoScale demonstrates its potential for large-scale data collection and empowering individuals in managing their menopausal experience.

AB - Background: Menopause symptoms significantly impact women’s quality of life, yet existing assessment tools may not fully capture the menopausal experience. The MenoScale is a new digital tool for reporting the number and impact of menopause-associated symptoms. Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the MenoScale, and explore its application as a research tool. Study design: Development of novel MenoScale tool and an online validation study comparing it to the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS) and RAND 36-item Health Survey 1.0, with 1010 peri- and postmenopausal women aged 37–70 years. Main outcome measures: Construct validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and associations with quality of life and dietary intake. Results: The MenoScale showed good agreement between the MenoScale and GCS through Bland-Altman plot analysis. Internal consistency varied across four symptom domains: vasomotor, sexual, psychological and cognitive, and somatic (Cronbach’s α = 0.5–0.8). Structural equation modelling revealed psychological and cognitive symptoms as central to the menopausal experience. Higher Healthy Eating Index scores were associated with slightly lower MenoScale scores (β = −0.132, p <.001). In the first 12 weeks post-launch, 65,181 women from 140 countries completed the online MenoScale. Conclusion: The MenoScale is a valid and reliable tool for assessing menopause symptoms, offering a comprehensive assessment of the menopausal experience. The association between diet quality and symptom burden warrants further investigation. The rapid uptake of the online MenoScale demonstrates its potential for large-scale data collection and empowering individuals in managing their menopausal experience.

KW - Digital tools

KW - HRT

KW - Menopause

KW - Perimenopause

KW - Postmenopause

KW - Questionnaire validation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105003995028&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/20533691251335807

DO - 10.1177/20533691251335807

M3 - Article

C2 - 40260898

AN - SCOPUS:105003995028

SN - 2053-3691

JO - Post reproductive health

JF - Post reproductive health

ER -