Psychometric attributes of the Cervantes short-form questionnaire for measuring health-related quality of life in menopausal women

• The Cervantes scale is a self-completed questionnaire designed to measure HRQoL in peri- and post-menopausal women. The original questionnaire consisting of 31 items was reduced to a 16-item short-form version (Cervantes-SF) preserving the original structure with four first-order dimensions and three second-order dimensions.
• The psychometric attributes of the conceptual and measurement model and the reliability and validity of the 16-item Cervantes questionnaire (Cervantes-SF) when presented in its definite form had not been studied yet.
• In this study, the Cervantes-SF has shown good psychometric properties for measuring HRQoL in peri- and post-menopausal women who regularly attended gynaecology clinics in Spain. The 16-item version has shown to keep all the original properties of the extended version, and it is proving to be more feasible in a clinical setting.

ObjectiveTo analyse the psychometric properties of the Cervantes scale short-form (SF) in the peri- and post-menopausal periods.MethodsOutpatients women 45–65 years with menstrual problems associated with the climacteric syndrome were analysed. Original and SF versions of the Cervantes scale were administered along with the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire (WPAI) scales. Conceptual model, burden of administration, feasibility, reliability, criteria validity and construct validity were assessed.Results317 women [55.7 ± 5.3 years (mean ± standard deviation)] were recruited: 75.4% were post- and 22.3% were peri-menopausal. The Cervantes-SF was completed in 2.5 ± 1.6 min, and 86% answered all items. Cronbach’s α was 0.820, and ranged from 0.510 (Aging) to 0.918 (Vasomotor Symptoms) for individual dimensions. The scale structure matched the structure of the original version, χ2/(degrees of freedom) = 3.6, Comparative Fit Index = 0.848, Tucker–Lewis Index = 0.850, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.099, although differences were found between sexual activity statuses. Criteria validity was good (r = 0.890), concurrent validity was congruent with a priori hypothesis using either the EQ-5D or the WPAI scales. The scale discriminated significantly the severity of both vasomotor and genital climacteric associated symptoms.ConclusionThe Cervantes-SF has shown good psychometric properties for measuring Health related quality of life in peri- and post-menopausal women who regularly attended gynaecology clinics in Spain.