What the sub-scales tell you
- Vasomotor. Hot flushes and night sweats. The most distinctive menopause symptoms and the ones hormone therapy treats most directly.
- Anxiety. Palpitations, tension, difficulty sleeping, panic. Often the first thing to flare in perimenopause and the symptom cluster that's most commonly misattributed to stress.
- Depression. Tiredness, loss of interest, low mood, crying spells, irritability. Distinct from clinical depression but overlapping - your clinician can help distinguish.
- Somatic. Headaches, joint pains, dizziness, tingling. Less specific to menopause but commonly reported.
- Sexual. Loss of interest in sex. One item, scored separately because it's a distinct domain with its own treatment options.
What to do with a moderate or severe score
Bring the breakdown to your clinician. Treatment isn't one-size: vasomotor-heavy scores often respond to hormone therapy or non-hormonal alternatives (SSRIs at low dose, gabapentin); anxiety-and-depression-heavy scores might lead with mental health treatment alongside hormone evaluation; somatic-heavy scores warrant ruling out other causes. A specific score lets the conversation skip the "everything feels off" phase.
Related
Perimenopause quiz if you aren't sure whether your symptoms are perimenopause or something else.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Greene Climacteric Scale?
A 21-item self-report questionnaire published by John Greene in 1998. It's one of the most widely used menopause symptom-severity tools in clinical research and practice. Items rate symptoms from 0 (not at all) to 3 (extremely), grouped into five sub-scales: Anxiety, Depression, Somatic, Vasomotor, and Sexual.
How is the total score interpreted?
Total scores range from 0 to 63. Loose clinical bands: under 7 is minimal, 7-15 mild, 16-30 moderate, 31+ severe. These are guideposts, not strict cutoffs - the original Greene paper deliberately left thresholds open because individual context matters.
Why are there sub-scores?
Because menopause doesn't show up the same way for everyone. Some people have intense hot flushes (vasomotor) but feel fine emotionally; others have textbook anxiety and depression with mild vasomotor symptoms. The sub-scale breakdown helps you and your clinician focus treatment where the score is highest.
Should I take this to my doctor?
If your score is in the moderate or severe range, yes. Bring the breakdown - especially the sub-scale that's highest. Hormone therapy, non-hormonal medications, and lifestyle interventions all work better when targeted at the dominant symptom cluster.
Is this a diagnosis?
No. It's a severity score for symptoms you already have, not a test for whether you're in perimenopause or menopause. Diagnosis is made clinically from menstrual history, age, and (sometimes) hormone tests. For that, take our Perimenopause Quiz.
Is anything saved?
No - everything stays in your browser. We don't log, store, or transmit your answers.
These calculators give estimates based on cycle averages and standard formulas. They are for general information only and are not medical advice. For anything concerning your health or pregnancy, talk to a qualified healthcare provider.