title: Validation of a simplified method to assess hirsutism in the Iranian population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hirsutism may be a symptom of androgen excess but there is still no clear definition and criterion for its clinical evaluation. The aims of the present study were to develop a simpler diagnostic method for assessment of hirsutism which examines fewer body areas and to evaluate its sensitivity and specificity in among a general population of Iranian women.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted among 1000 reproductive-age women recruited from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, using random systematic sampling. It had two phases: (1) the discovery phase, which aimed at developing a simpler method according to the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) system and a new cut-off point to assess hirsutism, and (2) the validation phase, aimed at assessing the sensitivity and specificity of the simplified method in a non-dependent study, the Iranian PCOS Prevalence Study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sensitivity and specificity of the subset of lip, abdomen and thighs (cut-off point 4) were 91.5% and 92%, respectively, with the highest positive predictive value (72.2%) and concordance percentage (91.9%) in comparison to our gold standard of mFG score≥8.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The three-area subset of lip, lower abdomen and thighs serves as a simple and less invasive method for hirsutism assessment and can be used in large epidemiologic studies.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Endocrinology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: ramezani@endocrine.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Fahimeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ramezani Tehrani
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Endocrinology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: s.minooee@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minooee
authors.affiliation: Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: azizi@endocrine.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Fereidoun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Azizi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006628:Hirsutism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Community-based study; Hirsutism; Iranian women; Modified Ferriman–Gallwey scoring system