Development of the menopause symptom list: a factor analytic study of menopause associated symptoms.

This paper outlines the development of a menopausal symptom checklist amongst a community sample of 40 women aged between 45-55 years. Participants completed an atheoretical symptom checklist of 56 symptoms that have previously been associated with menopause. Following two principal components factor solutions, three factors containing 25 symptoms emerged as significant. Interpretation of the three factor solution was straightforward with the factors labelled psychological, vaso-somatic, and general somatic. These symptoms formed the item pool for the Menopause Symptom List (MSL). Unique psychometric properties of the MSL make this instrument a useful clinical and research tool. Symptoms are operationally defined, scored separately for both frequency of occurrence and severity upon 6-point rating scales which provide sensitivity in detecting changes in symptomatology. Advantages of the MSL over existing climacteric symptom checklists is discussed.