Reliability and Validity of the Vietnamese menopause rating scale

The menopause rating scale (MRS) has been proven to be a reliable tool for quantifying the impact of menopausal symptoms and aiding clinicians in prescribing appropriate treatments worldwide. However, the Vietnamese-MRS (VN-MRS) has not been developed. This research aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the VN-MRS, and identify factors that are associated with menopausal symptoms in women aged 50 to 59. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 200 women aged 50 - 59 years in Vietnam from February 2020 to June 2020. The MRS was translated into Vietnamese following the procedure from the Berlin Center for Epidemiology and Health Research and adjusted to fit the local culture. Reliability was assessed by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and repeatability (using Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) at 2-week intervals). Validity was assessed by concurrent validity and construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha for the total score was 0.89. Repeatability (test-retest) was valued as “very good” (ICC = 0.991). The fit indices for construct validity, after adjustment, were: χ2 (39) = 67.78 with p = 0.003; SRMR = 0.042; TLI = 0.971; CFI = 0.979; RMSEA = 0.061 90% confidence interval (CI) (0.035 – 0.084). Concurrent validity demonstrated an inverse correlation with the SF-36 survey (r = - 0.87; p<0.001). Age, education, and menopausal period were contributed to the menopausal score. The VN-MRS has good reliability and validity, making it suitable for assessing the severity of menopausal symptoms in middle-aged Vietnamese women.