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Related Experiment Videos

Validity of self-reported menstrual cycle length.

Chanley M Small1, Amita K Manatunga, Michele Marcus

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. csmall@sph.emory.edu

Annals of Epidemiology
|August 3, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Self-reported menstrual cycle length is often inaccurate, with significant measurement error. Accuracy varies by age, marital status, income, and cycle regularity, highlighting potential biases in reproductive health studies.

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Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Epidemiology
  • Women's Health Research
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Menstrual cycle length is linked to various health outcomes.
  • Accurate menstrual cycle data is crucial for epidemiological studies.
  • Previous research suggests potential inaccuracies in self-reported data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the validity of self-reported menstrual cycle length.
  • To identify factors influencing the accuracy of self-reported cycle length.

Main Methods:

  • Compared self-reported usual cycle length with mean observed lengths from daily diaries.
  • Analyzed data from 398 women aged 19-41 years.
  • Utilized data from the Mount Sinai Study of Women Office Workers (1990-1994).

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Main Results:

  • 43% of women had self-reported lengths differing by over 2 days from their mean.
  • 21% of women were misclassified when cycle lengths were categorized.
  • Older age, marriage, and higher income correlated with more accurate self-reporting.
  • Accuracy decreased with increasing cycle variability and extreme cycle lengths.

Conclusions:

  • Significant measurement error exists in self-reported menstrual cycle length.
  • Specific demographic and cycle characteristics influence reporting accuracy.
  • Findings underscore the need for careful consideration of self-reported data in women's health research.