Every month, women complete menstrual calendars where they record the days on which they have menstrual bleeding or spotting, the heaviness of the flow – spotting, light to moderate bleeding; or heavy bleeding. On the last day of the month, women are asked to check if they had no bleeding that month, in order to distinguish months without bleeding from missing data. Women also are asked about the use of oral contraceptives and other female hormones as well as gynecological procedures during the past month, since these can affect bleeding patterns. These data on bleeding patterns will be used to identify changes associated with the onset of perimenopause and to measure the duration of the perimenopause, to determine whether bleeding patterns differ by stage of menopause transition, and to assess ethnic differences in menopause.

On the calendar women are also asked summary questions about symptoms in the past month and the past two weeks, to be answered on the last day of the month. Women are asked whether they had each symptom, and if so, for how may days. Women also are given the opportunity to report any other symptoms. Women reporting one or more symptoms are asked whether the symptom(s) interfered with their work, daily life, relationships or sexual life during the past two weeks. This symptom data will be used to examine the relationship of symptoms with bleeding patterns, stage of menopause transition, and age, as well as to assess ethnic differences in these relationships and in the type, frequency, duration, and severity of symptoms.