Clinical assessment of body hair in Colombian women: determining the cutoff score that defines hirsutism

Abstract

Introduction: Hirsutism is a medical entity defined as the excessive growth of body hair in women with a male distribution pattern. For evaluation it is used a visual analog scale designed by Ferriman and Gallwey in the United Kingdom in 1961, subsequently modified by Hatch. This scale consists of nine body areas, obtaining a minimum total value of 0 and a maximum of 36. It has been established a value greater than 8 points for diagnosis of hirsutism in European women, but it is recommended that the diagnosis of hirsutism should be individualized according to the study population.

Objective: To determine the most appropriate cutoff point for the diagnosis of hirsutism in a Colombian population by applying the Ferriman-Gallwey Modified scale.

Materials and methods: A random scale was applied to 323 women from Santander, between the ages of 18 and 50, and without risk factors for hirsutism.

Results: It was obtained a score between 0 and 9 in the Ferriman-Gallwey modified scale, and 53.5% of the women had an overall score between 0 and 1 points. The 96% of those examined evidenced a Ferriman-Gallwey score modified less or equal to 6.

Conclusion: It is suggest a value less than or equal to 6 as the cutoff point for the diagnosis ofhirsutism in our region.

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v33i3.1428