Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33292647›Full record

ArticleFertility research and practice2020

Cognitive testing of a survey instrument for self-assessed menstrual cycle characteristics and androgen excess.

Shruthi Mahalingaiah, Carol Cosenza, J Jojo Cheng, Erika Rodriguez, Ann Aschengrau

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Fertility research and practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Signs of Potential Androgen Excess Across the Lifespan in a US-based Digital Cohort Study.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Shruthi MahalingaiahDepartment of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Building 1 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. shruthi@hsph.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5527-5787
Carol CosenzaCenter for Survey Research, UMass Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA, 02125, USA.
J Jojo ChengDepartment of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.
Erika RodriguezDivision of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital , 55 Fruit Street Yawkey 10, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.
Ann AschengrauDepartment of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Talbot 3E, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.

Funding

BIRCWH K12 HD043444RSDP K12 HD000849
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn large population-based studies, there is a lack of existing survey instruments designed to ascertain menstrual cycle characteristics and androgen excess status including hirsutism, alopecia, and acne. Our objective was to cognitively test a survey instrument for self-assessed menstrual cycle characteristics androgen excess.

methodsQuestions to assess menstrual characteristics and health were designed using existing surveys and clinical experience. Pictorial self-assessment tools for androgen excess were also developed with an experienced medical illustrator to include the modified Ferrimen-Galway, acne and androgenic alopecia. These were combined into an online survey instrument using REDCap. Of the 219 questions, 120 were selected for cognitive testing to assess question comprehension in a population representative of the future study population.

resultsCognitive testing identified questions and concepts not easily comprehended, recalled, or had problematic response choices. Comprehension examples included simplifying the definition for polycystic ovary syndrome and revising questions on historic menstrual regularity and bleeding duration. Recall and answer formation examples include issues with recalling waist size, beverage consumption, and interpretation of questions using symbols (> or <). The survey was revised based on feedback and subsequently used in the Ovulation and Menstruation (OM) Health Pilot study.

conclusionWe present a cognitively tested, novel survey instrument to assess menstrual cycle characteristics and androgen excess.

Indexed as

Cognitive testingMenstrual cycleMultiethnicQualitative methodsQuestionnaires

Identifiers

PMID33292647
PMCPMC7650203

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.