title: Epidemiology of hirsutism among women of reproductive age in the community: a simplified scoring system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of our research was to generate large sample evidence for the clinical diagnostic criteria of hirsutism and to simplify the modified Ferriman-Galwey (mF-G) scoring system for Asian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a large-scale, cross-sectional epidemiologic investigation conducted in 10 provinces of China. A total of 10,120 reproductive-age women in the community were involved in using the mF-G scoring system to evaluate hirsutism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the participants, 95.5% had an mF-G score <5. The strongest contributors to the nine mF-G positions were upper lip, thighs, and lower abdomen. If the cut-off value was set at 2 for these 3 areas, the area under the ROC curve was 0.987 (95% CI 0.983-0.992), which had a sensitivity of 98.7% and a specificity 91.0%. The percentage of hirsutism (mF-G score >4) and the average mF-G score decreased with advancing age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An mF-G scoring >4 can be used to diagnose hirsutism in this population. The results also suggest that hair growth involving the upper lip, thighs, and lower abdomen with scores >2 can be used to diagnose hirsutism in women in the community.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Reproductive Medical Center, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors: Rong
authors: R
authors: Li
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Qiao
authors: Dongzi
authors: D
authors: Yang
authors: Shangwei
authors: S
authors: Li
authors: Shulan
authors: S
authors: Lu
authors: Xiaoke
authors: X
authors: Wu
authors: Zhaolian
authors: Z
authors: Wei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006628:Hirsutism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult