--- title: Is the German Menstrual Distress Questionnaire a reliable tool? description: Yes, the German version is reliable and valid for measuring menstrual distress. 36.4% of women in the study scored above the threshold for significant distres url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-menstrual-distress-questionnaire-medi-q-reliability-and-validity-of-the-2026/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Is the German Menstrual Distress Questionnaire a reliable tool? Survey study, 2026 # Is the German Menstrual Distress Questionnaire a reliable tool? Yes, the German version is reliable and valid for measuring menstrual distress. 36.4% of women in the study scored above the threshold for significant distress. Moderate study design 1,035 German-speaking women from the community ## What they did A cross-sectional study of 1,035 German-speaking women. They tested the German version of a 25-question questionnaire about menstrual distress by comparing it with measures of psychological distress. ## What they found The questionnaire had high internal consistency (0.839) and acceptable test-retest reliability (0.823). Scores were linked to age, psychological distress, premenstrual symptoms, and symptom severity. 36.4% of the sample scored above the cut-off for significant distress. ## What it means for you The tool can be used reliably to measure menstrual distress in German-speaking women and allows comparison across languages. Limitation: the structure of the tool needs further study before using it in all contexts. 1,035 Sample size 36.4% Scoring above distress threshold 0.823 Test-retest reliability ## About the study Original title The Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MEDI-Q): reliability and validity of the German version Authors Görlich Y, Richter E Journal BMC women's health Year 2026 Study design Survey study Participants 1,035 What was tested None - validation study of a measurement tool Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04608-7](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04608-7) Original abstract Background: Menstrual distress affects a substantial proportion of individuals of reproductive age and is associated with impaired quality of life and psychological comorbidities, yet validated German-language instruments for its assessment are lacking. The present study examined the reliability and validity of the German version of the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MEDI-Q), a 25-item self-report instrument previously validated in Italian, English, and Indonesian. Methods: A community sample of N = 1,035 German-speaking women completed the MEDI-Q alongside the DASS-21, the PAF10, and a global rating of menstrual symptom severity. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and structural validity via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were examined. Results: Internal consistency was high (α = 0.839, ω = 0.844) and test-retest reliability acceptable over a naturalistic long-term interval (ICC = 0.823). MEDI-Q Total Score, MS, and MSD correlated negatively with age and positively with psychological distress, premenstrual symptoms, and global symptom severity, while the Menstrual Specificity Index (MESI) showed a significantly weaker and statistically distinct association with the global rating. Among three competing factor models, the theoretically proposed 5-factor structure showed the best relative fit, though none of the models reached conventional fit thresholds (CFI/TLI ≥ 0.90), and structural validity warrants further investigation. Applying the proposed cut-off of ≥ 20, 36.4% of the community sample exceeded this threshold. Conclusions: The German MEDI-Q represents a psychometrically adequate instrument for standardised assessment of menstrual distress in German-speaking contexts, facilitating cross-cultural comparisons across four language versions, while structural validity remains unestablished and the instrument should be interpreted as a total score measure pending further investigation. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Survey study, 2025 How common are PMS and painful periods among female medical students in Saudi Arabia, and what causes them? Survey study, 2006 How common is PMS in teenage girls in the UAE and how much does it affect them? 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