The Prevalence of Hirsutism in Adolescent Girls in Yazd, Central Iran

Hirsutism is a distressing problem especially among girls. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of hirsutism and other hyper-androgenic symptoms in adolescent girls in Yazd, central Iran. Nine hundred high school girls (mean age of 17.26 and range of 15-19 years) were evaluated for prevalence of hirsutism and other hyper-androgenic syndromes. The selected girls were examined for the presence of hirsutism, acne, hypertrichosis, history of menstruation, and family history of known cases of hirsutism. Hirsutism was determined by the modified Ferriman-Gallwey index. Laboratory tests and ultrasound were requested for hirsute only. Among girls, 10.8% suffered from hirsutism. Other accompanying hyper-androgenic disorders were separately studied in two groups of hirsute and non-hirsute subjects. The most prevalent accompanying disorders were acne (42.7% vs 38.4%), hypertrichosis (42% vs 18.3%), first degree relatives’ family history of hirsutism (25.5% vs. 7%), and menstrual irregularity (14.6% vs. 10.2%), respectively. In the hirsute group, based on the hormonal and ultrasound tests, the most prevalent revealed causes were polycystic ovary syndrome (60.8%), hyper-prolactinoma (7.2%), idiopathic hirsutism (28.9%), and undetermined (3.1%). A high prevalence of hirsutism was observed which was more prevalent at higher ages in comparison to other societies showing that definition and scoring system of hirsutism need to be based on racial differences.