Shaabani Niloofar, Parvizi Mohammad Mahdi, Bagheri Zahra, Saki Nasrin, Shahsavar Zahra, Heydarirad Ghazaleh, Tansaz Mojgan
From the Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Molecular Dermatology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Menopause. 2023 Mar 1;30(3):323-328. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002137. Epub 2023 Jan 4.
Vulvovaginal symptoms are common in postmenopausal women and can affect their quality of life and sexual function. Using a sample of postmenopausal Iranian women, we evaluated a Persian translation of the Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ).
This study included 201 postmenopausal Iranian women referred to dermatology and gynecology clinics affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. We translated the VSQ to the Persian language using the forward-backward method. We examined the questionnaire's internal consistency using Cronbach α coefficient and evaluated its construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses.
A Cronbach α coefficient of 0.763 confirmed the overall internal consistency of the Persian VSQ. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that except for three items in the symptoms subscale, others had sufficient α coefficients, although some did not load on the expected subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the appropriate allocation of all but two items to the expected subscales. An intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.89 confirmed the reliability of the questionnaire.
Although some parts of the Persian VSQ were unsatisfactory, most were appropriate for assessing vulvovaginal symptoms in postmenopausal Iranian women. We recommend further cultural adaptations.
外阴阴道症状在绝经后女性中很常见，会影响她们的生活质量和性功能。我们以伊朗绝经后女性为样本，对外阴阴道症状问卷（VSQ）的波斯语译本进行了评估。
本研究纳入了201名转诊至伊朗设拉子医科大学附属皮肤科和妇科诊所的伊朗绝经后女性。我们采用前后翻译法将VSQ翻译成波斯语。我们使用克朗巴赫α系数检验问卷的内部一致性，并通过探索性和验证性因素分析评估其结构效度。
克朗巴赫α系数为0.763，证实了波斯语VSQ的整体内部一致性。探索性因素分析表明，除症状子量表中的三个项目外，其他项目的α系数足够，尽管有些项目并未加载到预期的子量表上。验证性因素分析证实，除两个项目外，所有项目都能合理分配到预期的子量表中。组内相关系数为0.89，证实了问卷的可靠性。
尽管波斯语VSQ的某些部分不尽人意，但大多数部分适合评估伊朗绝经后女性的外阴阴道症状。我们建议进一步进行文化调适。
