Published In

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Publication

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2005

Subjects

Menopause -- Treatment, Menopause -- Physiological aspects, Menopause -- Symptoms

Abstract

Although many measures have been developed to assess menopausal symptoms, few demonstrate standardization, validity, or reliability. Some measures are based on self-reports of the presence, severity, and frequency of individual symptoms, such as hot flashes. Others utilize cumulative or global scores based on lists or scales of symptoms attributed to menopause, such as mood, cognition, quality of life, sexual function, and somatic symptoms. Many studies base their measures on study-specific checklists, questionnaires, or scales. Ninety-two measures of menopausal symptoms were reported by studies included in this evidence review. This systematic evidence review focuses on five Key Questions relating to symptoms of menopause and their management, as specified by the Planning Committee for the National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference on Management of Menopause-Related Symptoms. The target population includes adult women in the United States undergoing the menopausal transition. A Technical Expert Panel was assembled to provide input from experts and clinicians in the field to ensure that the scope of the project addressed important clinical questions and issues. The panel included obstetrician/gynecologists, internists, naturopathic physicians, behavioral experts, and researchers. The panel was convened for periodic conference calls during the course of the project. Expert reviewers, including several panel members, provided comments on the draft evidence report.

Rights

This article is in the public domain

Description

This summary and associated full evidence report are available at www.ahrq.gov.

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/9497

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