BackgroundThis paper compiles data from different sources to get a first comprehensive picture of psychometric and other methodological characteristics of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) scale. The scale was designed and standardized as a self-administered scale to (a) to assess symptoms/complaints of aging women under different conditions, (b) to evaluate the severity of symptoms over time, and (c) to measure changes pre- and postmenopause replacement therapy. The scale became widespread used (available in 10 languages).MethodA large multinational survey (9 countries in 4 continents) from 2001/ 2002 is the basis for in depth analyses on reliability and validity of the MRS. Additional small convenience samples were used to get first impressions about test-retest reliability. The data were centrally analyzed. Data from a postmarketing HRT study were used to estimate discriminative validity.ResultsReliability measures (consistency and test-retest stability) were found to be good across countries, although the sample size for test-retest reliability was small.Validity: The internal structure of the MRS across countries was astonishingly similar to conclude that the scale really measures the same phenomenon in symptomatic women. The sub-scores and total score correlations were high (0.7–0.9) but lower among the sub-scales (0.5–0.7). This however suggests that the subscales are not fully independent.Norm values from different populations were presented showing that a direct comparison between Europe and North America is possible, but caution recommended with comparisons of data from Latin America and Indonesia. But this will not affect intra-individual comparisons within clinical trials.The comparison with the Kupperman Index showed sufficiently good correlations, illustrating an adept criterion-oriented validity. The same is true for the comparison with the generic quality-of-life scale SF-36 where also a sufficiently close association has been shown.ConclusionThe currently available methodological evidence points towards a high quality of the MRS scale to measure and to compare HRQoL of aging women in different regions and over time, it suggests a high reliability and high validity as far as the process of construct validation could be completed yet.

BackgroundSymptom scales for aging women have clinically been used for years and the interest in measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has increased in recent years. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) is a formally validated scale according to the requirements for quality of life instruments. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of the instrument particularly concerning versions of the scale in different languages.MRS versions availableThe translations were performed following international methodological recommendations for the linguistic & cultural adaptation of HRQoL instruments. The first translation was done from the German original scale into English (UK & USA). The English version was used as the source language for the translations into French, Spanish, Swedish, Mexican/Argentine, Brazilian, Turkish, and Indonesian languages (attached as additional PDF files).ConclusionThe MRS scale is obviously a valuable tool for assessing health related quality of life of women in the menopausal transition and is used worldwide. The currently available 9 language versions have been translated following international standards for the linguistic and cultural translation of quality of life scales. Assistance is offered to help interested parties in the translation process.

The majority of women demonstrated sufficient reliability of MRS scores. Changes in the score after one and a half years were little influenced by the variables tested, except some health conditions such as cardiac disease. It should be stressed that the MRS has the benefit of being a self-administrative tool for the assessment of climacteric complaints with convenient applicability, and representative reference data have been collected in a German population.

A substantial proportion of the German population is concerned about adverse health effects caused by exposure from mobile phone base stations. The observed slightly higher prevalence of health complaints near base stations can not however be fully explained by attributions or concerns.

The Menopause Rating Scale is a valuable modern tool for the assessment of menopausal complaints. It combines in practice excellent applicability and good reliability, and there are normal values for the population available. The MRS could serve as an adequate diagnostic instrument for menopausal quality of life.

In this large population-based study, measured RF-EMFs emitted from mobile phone base stations were not associated with adverse health effects.

Background: The interest of clinical research in aging males increased in recent years and thereby the interest to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptoms of aging men. The Aging Males' Symptoms scale (AMS) became the most commonly used scale to measure HRQoL and symptoms in aging males in many countries worldwide. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of the instrument particularly concerning versions of the scale in different languages in the light of the quality of the translation process.

BackgroundThe current paper reviews data from different sources to get a closer impression on the psychometric and other methodological characteristics of the Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale gathered recently. The scale was designed and standardized as self-administered scale to (a) to assess symptoms of aging (independent from those which are disease-related) between groups of males under different conditions, (b) to evaluate the severity of symptoms over time, and (c) to measure changes pre- and post androgen replacement therapy. The scale is in widespread use (14 languages).MethodOriginal data from different studies in many countries were centrally analysed to evaluate reliability and validity of the AMS.ResultsReliability measures (consistency and test-retest stability) were found to be good across countries, although the sample size was sometimes small.Validity: The internal structure of the AMS in healthy and androgen deficient males, and across countries was sufficiently similar to conclude that the scale really measures the same phenomenon. The sub-scores and total score correlations were high (0.8–0.9) but lower among the sub-scales (0.5–0.7). This however suggests that the subscales are not fully independent.The comparison with other scales for aging males or screening instruments for androgen deficiency showed sufficiently good correlations, illustrating a good criterion-oriented validity. The same is true for the comparison with the generic quality-of-life scale SF36 where also high correlation coefficients have been shown.Methodological analyses of a treatment study of symptomatic males with testosterone demonstrated the ability of the AMS scale to measure treatment effect, irrespective of the severity of complaints before therapy. It was also shown that the AMS result can predict the independently generated (physician's) opinion about the individual treatment effect.ConclusionThe currently available methodological evidence points towards a high quality of the AMS scale to measure and to compare HRQoL of aging males over time or before/after treatment, it suggests a high reliability and high validity as far as the process of construct validation could be pressed ahead yet. But certainly more data will become available, particularly from ongoing clinical studies.