Turkish Adaptation, Validity, and Reliability Study of the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to adapt MEDI-Q, which evaluates the problems women experience during menstruation in a versatile and objective manner, into Turkish. Methods: A total of 686 women individuals with regular menstrual cycles (23-38 days) aged 18 and above were included in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Descriptive characteristics of the participants, items of the MEDI-Q and Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) were queried using the "Google forms" tool. Results: The average age of the participants was 25.23±7.62 years, and their average menarcheal age was 13.36±1.99 years. The mean scores for "MEDI-Q Total," "MEDI-Q MS Total," "MEDI-Q MSD," and "MEDI-Q MESI" of the participants were found to be 25.91±22.22, 9.62±6.45, 2.22±1.17, and 0.51±0.37, respectively. MEDI-Q sections A, B, C, and D showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s=0.89-0.93). there was a moderate positive correlation between MSQ Total and MEDI-Q Total (r=0.51; p<0.001). Conclusions: The results obtained from this study show that the validity and reliability findings of MEDI-Q in Turkish are sufficient and that it can be used in the evaluation of menstruation-related symptoms and disorders in Turkish women. Conducting new studies with women from diverse lifestyles and cultural backgrounds is expected to enhance the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the scale.