Validity of a 10-Item Menstrual Quality-of-Life Measure in Women With Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
5 affiliations
- 1Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, GBR
- 2Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital, Islamabad, PAK
- 3Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shifa International Hospitals Limited, Islamabad, PAK
- 4Gynecologic Oncology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, PAK
- 5Surgical Oncology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, PAK
Abstract
Background and aim
Heavy menstrual bleeding, which is a common gynecological condition, has a detrimental effect on a woman's physical, psychological, and social well-being. With its high prevalence, it is underdiagnosed due to the reliance on subjective assessment and the absence of validated tools in many populations. A 10-item questionnaire was used to assess the impact of menstrual symptoms on quality of life (QOL). Few tools evaluate the effect of heavy menstrual bleeding on quality of life using the pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC) and assess the validity of a translated menstrual quality-of-life questionnaire in the local population. This study aimed to determine the effect of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), using the PBAC, on women's quality of life and to assess the validity of the translated version of the menstrual quality-of-life questionnaire in our population.
Methods
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of six months in the gynecology outpatient department. A total of 330 women aged 18-50 years diagnosed with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) were recruited through non-probability consecutive sampling. HMB was defined as a PBAC score ≥100 supported by hemoglobin levels. Demographic variables, clinical features, and the translated 10-item questionnaire were included in the structured proforma used for data collection. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 23 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.).
Results
On average, participants were 40.25±5.69 years old, with a hemoglobin level of 9.80±1.22 g/dL and a PBAC score of 266.04±86.21. The most prevalent cause of HMB was leiomyoma/fibroid, accounting for 51.8%. The mean quality-of-life score was 35.16±4.06, suggesting considerable detriment to quality of life. A severe impairment was observed in 80.9% of women. The translated PERIOD-QOL tool demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.606). A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was observed between PBAC scores and quality-of-life scores (rho=0.167, p=0.002), suggesting that increased menstrual blood loss is associated with poorer quality of life.
Conclusion
Heavy menstrual bleeding has a significant adverse impact on quality of life among women. The translated 10-item questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for assessing quality-of-life impairment in the local population and may facilitate early identification and management of affected women.
Related
- Heavy menstrual bleeding in women with a bleeding disorder of unknown cause: a common symptom impacting daily life functioning
- CO041 | GLOBAL COAGULATION ASSESSMENT FOR THE RISK OF HEAVY MENSTRUAL BLEEDING IN WOMEN ON ORAL ANTICOAGULANT THERAPY – THE COHMBO STUDY
- Comparative Effectiveness of Hysteroscopic Endometrial Resection Versus the 52-mg Levonorgestrel-Releasing Intrauterine System for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: A Retrospective Cohort Study
- Incidence of heavy menstrual bleeding and prevalence of co-occurring conditions from seven countries across Europe and North America: an EHDEN real-world data study
- Life-course patterns of heavy menstrual bleeding and menstrual pain across multiple population-based cohorts
BibTeX
@article{sadiq2026validity,
title = {{Validity of a 10-Item Menstrual Quality-of-Life Measure in Women With Heavy Menstrual Bleeding}},
author = {Hasina Sadiq and Shafaq Fatima and Filza Sibtain and Maria Aslam and Mahrukh Zaidi},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.116957},
url = {https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.116957},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Validity of a 10-Item Menstrual Quality-of-Life Measure in Women With Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
AU - Hasina Sadiq
AU - Shafaq Fatima
AU - Filza Sibtain
AU - Maria Aslam
AU - Mahrukh Zaidi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/26
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.116957
UR - https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.116957
AB - Background and aim Heavy menstrual bleeding, which is a common gynecological condition, has a detrimental effect on a woman's physical, psychological, and social well-being. With its high prevalence, it is underdiagnosed due to the reliance on subjective assessment and the absence of validated tools in many populations. A 10-item questionnaire was used to assess the impact of menstrual symptoms on quality of life (QOL). Few tools evaluate the effect of heavy menstrual bleeding on quality of life using the pictorial blood loss assessment chart (PBAC) and assess the validity of a translated menstrual quality-of-life questionnaire in the local population. This study aimed to determine the effect of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), using the PBAC, on women's quality of life and to assess the validity of the translated version of the menstrual quality-of-life questionnaire in our population. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of six months in the gynecology outpatient department. A total of 330 women aged 18-50 years diagnosed with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) were recruited through non-probability consecutive sampling. HMB was defined as a PBAC score ≥100 supported by hemoglobin levels. Demographic variables, clinical features, and the translated 10-item questionnaire were included in the structured proforma used for data collection. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 23 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results On average, participants were 40.25±5.69 years old, with a hemoglobin level of 9.80±1.22 g/dL and a PBAC score of 266.04±86.21. The most prevalent cause of HMB was leiomyoma/fibroid, accounting for 51.8%. The mean quality-of-life score was 35.16±4.06, suggesting considerable detriment to quality of life. A severe impairment was observed in 80.9% of women. The translated PERIOD-QOL tool demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.606). A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was observed between PBAC scores and quality-of-life scores (rho=0.167, p=0.002), suggesting that increased menstrual blood loss is associated with poorer quality of life. Conclusion Heavy menstrual bleeding has a significant adverse impact on quality of life among women. The translated 10-item questionnaire demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for assessing quality-of-life impairment in the local population and may facilitate early identification and management of affected women.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -