Abstract
Hirsutism is a condition where a female develops a male pattern growth of thick, pigmented androgendependant terminal hair. This is to be differentiated from overgrowth of non-sexual (vellus) hair, which is the fine, lightly pigmented hair covering most areas of the body during the prepubertal years and is known as hypertrichosis. Although hirsutism is generally thought to affect 5-10% of women of reproductive age, it is important to bear in mind that the incidence is highly affected by location and ethnicity being higher in those of African or Mediterranean descent. The first semiquantitative assessment method was developed for the of body hair growth published in 1961 by D. Ferriman and J.D. Gallwey in the Journal of ClinicalEndocrinology. Five gradings based on densities and areas involved (0 to 4) , were determined for each of 11 sites : upperlip, chin, chest, upper back, lower back, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, upper arms, forearms, thighsand legs. In 1981 Hatch et al provided the modified FG scoring model with 9 zones by eliminating forearms and thighsand legs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Api M, Badoglu B, Akca A, Api O, Gorgen H, Cetin A. Interobserver variability of modified Ferriman-Gallwey hirsutism score in a Turkish population. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2009;279:473–9.
Asuncion M, Calvo RM, San Millan JL, Sancho J, Avila S, Escobar-Morreale HF. A prospective study of the prevalence of the polycystic ovary syndrome in unselected Caucasian women from Spain. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000;85:2434–8.
Azziz R. PCOS: a diagnostic challenge. Reprod Biomed Online. 2004;8(6):644–8.
Cheewadhanaraks S, Peeyananjarassri K, Choksuchat C. Clinical diagnosis of hirsutism in Thai women. J Med Assoc Thai. 2004;87:459–63.
DeUgarte CM, Woods KS, Bartolucci AA, Azziz R. Degree of facial and body terminal hair growth in unselected black and white women: toward a populational definition of hirsutism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91:1345–50.
Escobar-Morreale HF, Carmina E, Dewailly D, Gambineri A, Kelestimur F, Moghetti P, et al. Epidemiology, diagnosis and management of hirsutism: a consensus statement by the Androgen Excess and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Society. Hum Reprod Update. 2012;18(2):146–70.
Espinós JJ, Calaf J, Estadella J, Checa MA. Hirsutism scoring in polycystic ovary syndrome: concordance between clinicians’ and patients’ self-scoring. Fertil Steril. 2010;94(7):2815–6.
Ferriman D, Gallwey JD. Clinical assessment of body hair growth in women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1961;21:1440–7.
Hassa H, Tanir HM, Yildirim A, Senses T, Eskalen M, Mutlu FS. The hirsutism scoring system should be population specific. Fertil Steril. 2005;84(3):778–80.
Hatch R, Rosenfield RL, Kim MH, Tredway D. Hirsutism: implications, etiology, and management. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1981;140(7):815–30.
Hertweck SP, Yoost JL, McClure ME, Siow Y, Brock GN, Wintergerst KA, et al. Ferriman-Gallwey scores, serum androgen and mullerian inhibiting substance levels in hirstute adolescent girls. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2012;25(5):300–4.
Kim JJ, Chae SJ, Choi YM, Hwang SS, Hwang KR, Kim SM, Yoon SH, Moon SY. Assessment of hirsutism among Korean women: results of a randomly selected sample of women seeking pre-employment physical check-up. Hum Reprod. 2011;26:214–20.
Li R, Qiao J, Yang D, Li S, Lu S, Wu X, et al. Epidemiology of hirsutism among women of reproductive age in the community: a simplified scoring system. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2012;163(2):165–9.
Metwally M. Hirsutism. Obstet Gynaecol Reprod Med. août 2012;22(8):211–4.
Moran C, Tena G, Moran S, Ruiz P, Reyna R, Duque X. Prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome and related disorders in Mexican women. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 2010;69:274–80.
Noorbala MT, Kefaie P. The prevalence of hirsutism in adolescent girls in Yazd, Central Iran. Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2010;12:111–7.
Rosenfield RL. Clinical practice. Hirsutism. N Engl J Med. 2005;353(24):2578–88.
Sagsoz N, Kamaci M, Orbak Z. Body hair scores and total hair diameters in healthy women in the Kirikkale Region of Turkey. Yonsei Med J. 2004;45:483–91.
Tellez R, Frenkel J. [Clinical evaluation of body hair in healthy women]. Rev Med Chil 1995;123:1349–1354.
Zhao JL, Chen ZJ, Shi YH, Geng L, Ma ZX, Li Y, Tang R. [Investigation of body hair assessment of Chinese women in Shandong region and its preliminary application in polycystic ovary syndrome patients]. Zhonghua Fu Chan Ke Za Zhi. 2007;42:590–4.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ferial, F. (2016). Hirsutism. In: Humbert, P., Maibach, H., Fanian, F., Agache, P. (eds) Agache’s Measuring the Skin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_111-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_111-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26594-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine