The Midlife Women's Symptom Index (MSI)

Abstract

In this article, the Midlife Women's Symptom Index (MSI), a recently developed measurement scale for symptoms experienced during the menopausal transition, is presented with its psychometric properties. This was a cross-sectional study including (a) an expert review among 20 women's health experts and (b) a psychometric test among 77 middle-aged women. The instruments for the psychometric test were 19 questions on sociodemographic characteristics, the MSI, and the Menopausal Symptom Checklist (MSC). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, K-R 20, and item analysis. The reliability and validity of the MSI were supported among middle-aged women.

The impact and management of symptoms experienced at midlife: a community‐based study of women in northeast Scotland

“…26,27 It consisted of 23 symptoms likely to affect middle-aged women: physical (stiff joints, aches and pains, headaches, dizziness, feeling bloated, breathlessness, skin problems, increased weight, leaking urine, passing urine more frequently, tiredness, vaginal dryness); vasomotor (hot flushes, night sweats); psychological (depression, anxiety, mood swings, memory loss, tearfulness, sleep difficulties); sexual (decreased sexual interest) and menstrual (irregular periods, heavy periods) symptoms. Participants were asked whether they had experienced the symptom in the last month, how bothered they were by the symptom and whether they believed the symptom was caused by the menopause.…”

Midlife women's cardiovascular symptoms: A cluster analysis

“…The Cardiovascular Symptom Index for Midlife Women (CSIMW) was adopted from the Midlife Women’s Symptom Index (MSI) (Im, 2006). The CSIMW includes only 25 questions that were chosen based on an extensive literature review on midlife women’s symptoms associated with CVDs (Khan et al, 2013; Kikidis, Tsioufis, Papanikolaou, Zerva, & Hantzakos, 2014; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2014; Polunina et al, 2011).…”

Immigration Transition and Depressive Symptoms: Four Major Ethnic Groups of Midlife Women in the United States

“…The Depression Index for Midlife Women (DIMW) was adopted from the Midlife Women’s Symptom Index (MSI) (Im, 2006) that has 71 items on physical, psychological, and psychosomatic symptoms. To develop the DIMW, we reviewed the signs and symptoms of depression that were published by National Institutes of Mental Health (2011), and adopted 17 items of the MSI that matched with the signs and symptoms of depression.…”