Development of a brief menstrual quality of life measure for women with heavy menstrual bleeding

Deborah Lancastle, Helena Kopp Kallner, Gabrielle Hale, Bethan Wood, Lauren Ashcroft, Holly Driscoll

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Abstract

Background
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advises that considerations around quality of life should be made when assessing and treating heavy menstrual bleeding. A quick and reliable method for women to assess the impact of HMB on their quality of life might encourage help-seeking. This research aimed to develop a new 10-item measure of menstrual quality of life (the PERIOD-QOL).

Methods
Three pilot studies describe PERIOD-QOL development and a cross-sectional survey (N = 376) assessed PERIOD-QOL scores in women who reported HMB and those who did not. A population sample of women (mean age 30.29, SD = 9.06) completed the PERIOD-QOL and rated their menstrual bleeding as heavy/very heavy/extremely heavy (HMB group) or very light/light/moderate bleeding (LMMB) group. Data were analysed using independent samples Analysis of Variance and independent samples t-tests.

Results
Cronbach’s Alpha for the PERIOD-QOL = .88. A significant reduction in PERIOD-QOL scores was found across the 6 levels of bleeding from very light to extremely heavy, and significantly lower PERIOD-QOL scores were reported in the HMB than the LMMB group.

Conclusion
The results suggest that the PERIOD-QOL is a reliable measure and that women experiencing HMB reported significantly lower menstrual quality of life than those who did not. Further validation of the PERIOD-QOL is required to determine its relationships with existing measures of menstrual quality of life and to establish whether PERIOD-QOL scores are associated with decisions to seek help from health professionals and with verified diagnoses of conditions that cause HMB.
Original languageEnglish
Article number105
Number of pages10
JournalBMC Women's Health
Volume23
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2023

Keywords

  • Heavy menstrual bleeding
  • menstruation
  • menorrhagia
  • quality of life
  • help-seeking
  • decision making
  • PERIOD-QOL

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