Objective: 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).
Methods: 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.
Results: 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.
Conclusions: 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.
Copyright © 2023 by The North American Menopause Society.